The supermarket says the rise will benefit about 28,000 employees as it becomes the latest chain to lift wages.

The German-owned discounter said wages for entry-level employees will rise to £12.75 an hour across the UK next month, up from £12.40 currently.

The UK arm of German discount supermarket Lidl is to give its 28,000 hourly paid workers a pay rise of at least 2.8%, it said on Monday, a figure slightly above the current inflation rate of 2.5%. The Bank of England is keeping a close eye on wage settlements as it assesses further moves in interest rates after cutting by a quarter-point last week.