Tesco lifts pay above inflation, joining UK retail peers
18/03/2026 14:19
LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - Tesco TSCO.L, Britain's largest private sector employer, on Wednesday became the latest major retailer to increase store workers' pay by more than inflation, following similar moves by peers. The Bank of England is monitoring wage settlements closely as it assesses inflation pressures and its next move on interest rates. Tesco, which employs around 300,000 UK workers, will pay store and online fulfilment workers 13.28 pounds ($17.68) an hour from March 29, a rise of 5.1%. London workers will get a higher rate. Britain's headline rate of inflation was 3% in January. Tesco said the latest increase, costing it more than 200 million pounds, means hourly-paid workers' pay has increased 43% over the last five years. Tesco's rise follows above-inflation increases from companies including John Lewis, Costa Coffee, Marks & Spencer MKS.L, Sainsbury's SBRY.L, Aldi and Lidl. The increases partly reflect Britain's government-mandated main minimum wage rising by 4.1% to 12.71 pounds an hour in April. ($1 = 0.7512 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise) ((james.davey@thomsonreuters.com))