Short answer: since 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage has been £12.71 an hour for anyone aged 21 or over (GOV.UK). Over a 37.5-hour week that’s about £24,785 a year. A full-time office job advertised at £24,000 now pays less than that, and supermarkets are paying more again for shop floor roles.
Supermarkets now set the pace
The big supermarkets have pushed their starting pay above the legal minimum to attract staff. Aldi’s rate comes from its own announcement.
| Job | Hourly rate | Full-time equivalent | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aldi store assistant (from April 2026) | £13.50 | £26,325 | Aldi press office |
| Lidl store assistant | £13.45 | £26,228 | Live Business Blog |
| Sainsbury’s store colleague | £13.23 | £25,799 | Live Business Blog |
| Office job advertised at £24,000 | £12.31 | £24,000 | Worked out at 37.5 hours a week |
The minimum wage is rising faster than salaries
Between April 2021 and April 2025 the National Living Wage went up 37%, from £8.91 to £12.21 an hour (House of Commons Library). Over the same four years the median full-time salary went up 25%, from £31,285 to £39,039 (ONS 2021, ONS 2025).
So the gap between entry-level pay and a typical salary keeps shrinking. Office roles that used to sit comfortably above the minimum wage now sit level with it, or below it.
What this means in Horsham
Horsham has its own pay gap on top of this. In 2023, full-time employees who live in the district earned a median of £37,313 a year. Full-time employees who work in the district earned £32,993, about £4,300 (12%) less (West Sussex County Council economic evidence report, using ONS earnings data).
In other words, many of the district’s better-paid residents earn their money somewhere else. A Horsham employer isn’t only competing with the supermarket down the road. It’s competing with the commute.
The competition close to home is busy too. Horsham had about 7,800 active businesses in 2022, joint highest in West Sussex (same report). And in September 2025 the Government approved Gatwick’s second runway, which is expected to create around 14,000 jobs across the South East (Business Surrey).
Why it matters when you’re hiring
- Candidates compare offers. If a supermarket pays more per hour than your office role, some good applicants will take the supermarket job.
- Employers who struggle are already paying more. In the CIPD’s 2024 resourcing report, 41% of organisations with recruitment difficulties responded by improving pay and benefits.
- Candidates are negotiating harder. The same report found 20% of organisations said candidates always or mostly renegotiated their offer, up from 15% in 2022.
- The legal minimum applies to every hour worked. A salary has to work out at £12.71 or more an hour for staff aged 21 and over.
What to do before you advertise
- Work out your hourly rate: annual salary divided by (weekly hours × 52).
- Compare it with £12.71 and with what local employers pay, not with what the last person earned.
- If you can’t move on pay, say clearly what else you offer, such as hours, parking, flexibility or progression.
- Review your salaries every April, when the minimum wage changes.
Not sure whether your salary will attract the right people? Ask Ashley. She’ll tell you honestly what the local market is paying.