Morrisons is hiking its staff pay to £10.20 an hour to beat off competition amid the cost of living crisis.

The supermarket said its 80,000 workers will be the highest paid across the sector after rivals Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s also announced pay bumps.

Sainsbury’s increased staff pay in March but was later forced to raise it again for all London workers following pressure from shareholders.

In April, Tesco announced it was raising its minimum pay to £10.10 an hour from the end of July, bringing it in line with Lidl and Aldi, which had previously been the UK’s highest-paying supermarkets.

Morrisons also confirmed the minimum wage for its London staff – which covers all stores within the M25 – will be £11.05 an hour, matching the London Living Wage.

The new deal is due to start in October, subject to the offer being approved by staff.

Clare Grainger, group people director at Morrisons, said: ‘We’re very pleased to be maintaining our position as the highest paying UK national supermarket.’

The battle is on to recruit more employees across the board after the country’s job vacancies hit record levels after the economy reopened from the various Covid lockdowns.

Official figures showed last month there were fewer unemployed people than job vacancies for the first time since records began.

‘The majority of businesses in almost every field are finding recruitment very difficult,’ said Richard Hyman, a partner at retail consultancy TPC.

‘[A wage rise] might give Morrisons an advantage in the recruitment market for a short while but how retailers handle rising costs and how they share the pain with their customers will play a central role in determining how they will emerge from this tough economy.’

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