Aldi supermarket announced on June 1, a pay rise of 40p an hour for Hampshire's store assistants and deputy store managers.

This marks the second pay increase for Aldi workers this year, reinforcing its status as Hampshire's best-paying supermarket.

The grocery chain was the first in the county to pay store and warehouse colleagues at least £12 an hour, a rate set in February.

Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: "We firmly believe that our colleagues are the best in the business, so it is only right that they remain the best-paid and we are committed to never being beaten on pay by any other supermarket.

"Our Store Operations colleagues play an integral part in our ever-increasing popularity among shoppers and our continued investment in their pay is another way to thank them for the role they play in making Aldi what it is today."

The latest rise takes their pay from £12 to £12.40 an hour. Aldi, the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket, is unique in offering paid breaks, yielding more than £900 a year for the average store colleague.

After these pay increases, Aldi's financial commitment to salaries this year climbs to £79m. The supermarket, which has over 1,000 stores and 45,000 colleagues across Britain, also anticipates creating 5,500 new jobs in the UK this year.