Discount supermarket Lidl has increased the rates of pay for new shop floor workers to more than £10 an hour.

Bosses said entry-level wages will rise from £9.50 to £10.10 an hour outside London and from £10.85 to £11.30 in the capital from March next year.

Longer-serving staff will see their pay rates also rise to £11.40 and £12.25 outside and inside London respectively, depending on length of service.

The supermarket claimed it means Lidl is now the highest-paying grocer in the country, adding that this was in recognition of the hard work of staff during the pandemic.

Bosses said the extra £18 million spend by the business on the new wages equates to £50 million invested in hourly wage increases over the past five years.

It follows a £200 bonus to all frontline workers this year, alongside £150 gift vouchers for all staff in 2020 during the pandemic.

Christian Hartnagel, Lidl GB chief executive, said: “We have ambitious plans to grow our business across Great Britain, and to do that we need to ensure we attract and look after the best talent at every level of our business.”

He has targeted 1,000 stores by the end of 2023.