Aldi increases staff pay for third time this year as cost of living soars

Minimum rate of 11 an hour puts it above Lidl and back at top of supermarket wage league

Aldi is increasing pay for its workers for the third time this year with a new minimum rate of 11 an hour, putting it back at the top of the supermarket pay league.

The UK's fourth largest grocer is upping pay by 50p an hour - or almost 5% - for about 26,000 staff from January, announcing the increase just over a month after its last rise, in September, when shop workers' hourly rate rose 40p to a minimum 10.50 an hour. Workers inside the M25 motorway around London will see their pay rise to at least 12.45 an hour.