It was just two years ago that Morrisons became the first supermarket to pay its workers more than £10 an hour. This year, half the UK’s 10 biggest grocers have stormed up to the £11 mark.

Until recently, tense competition by the supermarkets to retain talent resulted in an even playing field, with Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl all awarding £11 per hour. But Aldi upped the ante again last month, raising its base pay by 13% to £11.40.