The ‘rule’ sees supermarket employees across the UK have their pay boosted to £13, determined by the Real Living Wage [RLW], rather than the National Living Wage [NLW] which is £12.71 for workers aged 21 and over.
The current RLW, determined by the Living Wage Foundation Charity, stands at £13.45 per hour.
Supermarkets have increased their workers pay so it is closer to the NLW.
Aldi was one of the first supermarkets to make this change with shop assistants’ £12.75 hourly rate being increased to £13 in September last year.
In London, workers saw their pay increase from £14.05 an hour to £14.33
Morrisons are due to adopt the £13 rule in July.
In May shop assistant’s hourly rate rose by 10p and from July 20 wages will rise to £13 for workers in that role, with a 19p rise for all other staff covered in the agreement.
Wages are then due to further increase in October.
Lidl boosted their pay to £13.45 as part of a £29 million investment in wages that came into effect from March 1 this year.
In London, this means pay rose from £14.35 to £14.80.
Elsewhere, other supermarkets also increased wages aligning with the £13 rule.
Waitrose pay increased as John Lewis announced an £108 million investment in pay across their two brands in February.
Sainsbury’s also introduced a five percent pay increase in March boosting staff pay to £13.23 per hour nationally.
Tesco’s staff saw their pay rise in August 2025.
Asda is one of the many supermarkets whose staff are yet to be paid more than £13 per hour.
They announced their adoption of the £13 rule in March, with 110,000 hourly‑paid retail staff getting a 4 per cent pay rise.
Their basic £12.60 hourly rate increased to £12.71 on April 1 and will jump above £13 on July 5 when staff will be paid £13.10.