LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Lidl GB on Friday became the latest UK supermarket to lift pay for its store staff above inflation, following similar moves by Aldi UK and Sainsbury's.
The Bank of England is monitoring wage settlements closely as it assesses whether inflation pressures will allow it to lower interest rates further.
Britain's headline inflation rate rose to 3.4% in December, the highest in the Group of Seven rich economies. On Thursday, the BoE kept its benchmark Bank Rate at 3.75%.
Lidl GB, which employs 35,000 and is currently Britain's fastest-growing bricks and mortar grocer, said entry-level hourly pay will from March 1 rise from 13 pounds nationally to 13.45 pounds - a rise of 3.5% from when it was last increased in September and a rise of 5.5% on an annual basis. Workers in London will receive higher rates.
The group, owned by Germany's Schwarz group, said the pay rise would cost it 29 million pounds ($39.4 million).
Last month, Aldi UK said a pay rise for over 28,000 hourly paid workers took the annual increase to 4.7%.
Also, Sainsbury's announced a 5% rise for its workers, taking the increase to 42% over the last five years.
Britain's government-mandated main minimum wage will rise by 4.1% to 12.71 pounds an hour in April, despite complaints from some employers that this will push up prices.
Survey data published on Monday showed British businesses are planning to raise pay this year by between 3% and 3.49%, slightly more than some BoE policymakers are comfortable with as they seek to return inflation to the bank's 2% target.
($1 = 0.7370 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Susan Fenton)
