British supermarket chain Asda plans a substantial £80m ($103m) infusion into retail wages, raising the hourly earnings of employees in its stores to £12.60 from October 2025.
115,000 workers at Asda Retail and Asda Express will benefit from a three-stage pay increase that amounts to a 4.7% raise, pushing their current wage from £12.04 up to £12.60 per hour. For those working in locations within the M25 London orbital motorway, the hourly wage will rise to £13.82.
Asda has committed £500m to enhancing retail salaries since its acquisition by a consortium of investors in 2021, marking a significant 35% growth in the base hourly rate from £9.36 to the forthcoming £12.60.
Asda chief people officer Hayley Tatum stated: “We’re proud to have invested more than £500m in retail pay over the last four years. Our colleagues are what makes Asda special, and this latest pay investment, plus an increased colleague discount and enhanced family friendly policies, recognises the key role they play in serving customers each day.”
Alongside this investment in employee remuneration, Asda has confirmed that it will roll out improved and comprehensive family-friendly policies for all staff members from July 2025.
These include extending maternity and adoption leave pay from 12 weeks to half a year, and doubling paternity leave to four weeks at full pay.
The retailer has also introduced a policy granting kinship carers 26 weeks of paid leave, and another providing two weeks of paid leave for individuals experiencing pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
The company also recently raised its employee discount to 15%.
The new pay rates were established through an agreement with Usdaw, the trade union authorised to negotiate wages on behalf of employees at Asda Express, Food Service and LEON.
Usdaw national officer Jayne Allport stated: “The cost of living continues to be a key concern, so the business’s decision to respond in such a positive manner is welcome. Our members are key workers delivering essential services, it is only right they are fairly rewarded with a living wage.”
Asda’s total revenue for the year ended 31 December 2024 declined to £21.7bn from £21.9bn in fiscal 2023.
“Asda boosts employee wages with £80m investment in retail pay” was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand.
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