Aldi store worker

Source: Aldi

Aldi pays store assistants £11.40 per hour nationally, and £12.85 per hour inside the M25

Aldi has kicked off its hunt for festive seasonal workers, offering 3,000 store roles ahead of Christmas.

The discounter is looking to fill both temporary and permanent positions, to help replenish stock and provide additional customer assistance during the busy trading period.

Managerial positions are among the roles offered, along with store assistants and cleaners.

A further 1,500 roles are available in Aldi’s regional distribution centres across the UK, including warehouse selectors, logistics assistants and warehouse cleaners.

“It’s never been more important to us to make affordable high-quality food accessible to all, especially at Christmas,” said Aldi UK recruitment director Kelly Stokes. “That’s why we’re looking forward to welcoming thousands of new colleagues to our stores and regional distribution centres over the coming months.

“Our colleagues play such a vital role in keeping our shelves stocked throughout the year, which is why we will once again be keeping our stores closed on Boxing Day as a way to say thank you for their continued hard work.”

Exclusive research for The Grocer last month suggested retailers’ demand for festive workers this year would outstrip a diminishing seasonal labour pool.

More than half of retail managers surveyed (53%) by Axonify said they were hiring more festive seasonal workers this year, either because they needed more support than usual or because existing staff lacked the skills to meet seasonal demand. But nearly as many (49%) said it had been harder to find them and 57% said the quality of applicants, including their skill set and previous experience, had become worse.

Aldi pays store assistants an industry-leading £11.40 per hour nationally, and £12.85 per hour inside the M25, while also remaining one of the few retailers to offer paid breaks.

In September, Aldi set a new target of growing to 1,500 UK stores, as it opened its 1,000th.