Whole Foods raised its minimum pay fairly recently in order to stay competitive with other retail stores. In actuality, their starting pay is the highest in the supermarket retail business.
In this article, you’ll see:
- The starting pay for all entry-level workers
- Average hourly, weekly, and yearly salaries for all positions
- How many hours are considered full-time work at Whole Foods
- Part-time work hours
- Part-Time salaries
- Minimum age to work at Whole Foods
- The answer to, “Does Whole Foods drug test before hiring?”
- How much money workers earn in yearly raises
- The break policy
- Dress code
Whole Foods Starting Pay
The starting pay at Whole Foods is now $15 an hour. This gives workers a chance to earn a living wage in a business that for far too long, has financially mistreated its employees.
A family of two workers in any household can now work at Whole Foods and make at the very least, an average yearly family median income of around $60,000.
Whole Foods Pay, on Average
The pay chart in the order of lowest to highest wages and salaries is as follows:
- Team Member
- Associate Team Leader
- Team Leader
- Associate Store Team Leader
- Store Team Leader
Here are the average wages you can earn by working any of the various positions available at Whole Foods:
Whole Foods Cashier Pay
The average pay for a cashier at this retail chain is approximately $16.25 an hour. Depending on the number of hours worked every week, this totals $520 to $650 a week and $27,040 to $33,800 a year.
On the official Whole Foods Careers website, they state team members make an approximate average of $30,000 a year. That would probably be based on working about 36 hours a week.
Whole Foods Stocker Pay
An overnight stocker can typically make $15.75 an hour, which means it’s about $630 a week. This is a difficult job for people who aren’t used to working the midnight shift but it is well-rewarding for this type of work.
You can earn roughly $30,000 to $32,760 a year with this job.
Team Member Pay
Through the many different categories of jobs available as a team member at Whole Foods, the average hourly pay is approximately $15.60. This equals about $592.80 a week and a yearly salary of $30,825 if you work a doable average of 38 hours a week.
Some team member positions such as in Sanitation, Stocking, and Prepared Foods have less employee turnover than other positions. Therefore, you may find more experienced employees earning close to $20 an hour in those departments than in a team member job such as a cashier, which has a higher turnover rate.
Whole Foods Associate Team Leader Salary
The average associate team leader makes approximately $20.93 an hour. This translates into $837.50 a week and a yearly salary of $43,550.
This job is a stepping stone to a team leader and the jump and salary when you get to that level is pretty substantial.
Team Leader Pay
This is a highly responsible job that nets you an hourly rate of $27.70 on average. It’ll give you approximately $1108 a week and a yearly salary of $57,620.
For a detailed job description of this position as well as other positions listed in this article, visit the Whole Foods Market application guide.
Associate Store Team Leader Salary
This is a salaried position with an average salary of approximately $74,900 a year.
Of all the supervisory positions at Whole Foods, this job is usually the busiest. Day in and day out, you will be on the floor helping out customers and assisting team members wherever and whenever necessary.
You’ll also be the right-hand person for the store team leader and if you aspire to move up the ranks and you perform well, you just might find yourself in the position of a store team leader someday with a hefty raise in salary.
Whole Foods Store Team Leader Salary
The store team leader is the big cheese of the Whole Foods store. In this position, you can expect to earn an average salary of about $101,400 a year.
This is a very stressful job and is recommended for people who enjoy managing on a large scale and can work well under pressure.
This position includes a yearly bonus in the form of cash, stocks, and profit-sharing.
Whole Foods Full-time Hours
Full-time employees generally get scheduled to work from 35 to 40 hours per week.
Full-time team members are guaranteed at least 32 hours of work on a weekly basis. Some employees prefer to work 4 days a week and 8 hours each day for a total of 32 hours.
Whole Foods Part-Time Salary
Whether you work part-time or full-time at Whole Foods, you’re going to receive the same starting pay and wages, depending on your performance and how long you have been employed with the company.
In other words, if you start out at $15 an hour as a part-timer and work in that position for 4 years, you will receive raises consistent with that of a person working part-time.
It is simply your choice whether to work 32 hours a week or over if you’re offered that position versus working under 32 hours on average every week and staying part-time.
Part-time Hours
As a part-time worker, you will usually get between 15 and 30 hours of work scheduled weekly.
If you show them you’re a dependable employee, you may be chosen to work a few extra hours here and there and this will consistently increase your total hours worked.
Does Whole Foods pay weekly?
Employees at Whole Foods get paid on a biweekly basis. The two-week pay period ends on the previous Thursday, then you are paid the following Friday.
Whole Foods Raises
Past and present workers say you get a raise once a year after 2 performance evaluations. The amount of the raises is usually anywhere between $.50 to $1.00 every year.
This is not bad because realistically, you can start out at $15 an hour and in 3 to 5 years be making $18 an hour if you perform very well.
Break Policy
The Whole Foods break policy is one of the worst in the industry. You are allowed to take one 10-minute paid break for every scheduled shift. This is in contrast to the two 15-minute breaks almost every other retail company offers.
This allows you just enough time to go to the restroom, grab a quick refreshment, and go straight back to work.
This policy is surprising, in light of how well this retail chain performs across the board in all other rating categories by its own employees.
Regardless, you also get a 30-minute unpaid lunch for any shift work past 5 hours, which is typical for any retail chain.
Dress Code
Every team member can wear clean, casual clothes. They are also required to wear the Whole Foods apron and name badge while on duty.
Shoes have to be close-toed and certain departments such as food service, require employees to wear a Whole Foods hat, hair and beard nets, and slip-resistant shoes.
If in doubt, consult with your management team in regards to how you should dress.
