Drapers - M&S to make biggest ever investment in retail pay


From 1 April, the speed of pay for UK buyer assistants at M&S, roughly 50,000 folks, will enhance from £12 to £12.60 per hour, representing a 5% enhance on final yr and a 26% enhance since 2022, which is double the speed of inflation over the identical interval.

For a full-time workers member outdoors of London, that’s a rise of round £98 per thirty days.

For buyer assistants working in London, the hourly charge will enhance from £13.15 to £13.85, representing a 5.3% enhance on final yr.

For UK workforce assist managers, the hourly charge will enhance from £13.05 to £13.65, whereas for these in London, it can enhance from £14.20 to £14.90.

Since 2022, M&S has invested greater than £285m in its retail pay package deal. The newest funding is the most important the retailer has ever made in its retail pay supply, and the third consecutive enhance since Stuart Machin turned CEO in 2022.

Marks & Spencer’s advantages package deal contains an uncapped 20% worker low cost, an “business main” pension contribution of as much as 12%, 26 weeks maternity and adoption depart at full pay and 6 weeks paternity depart at full pay.

Machin stated: “Following the federal government’s latest will increase in tax and Nationwide Insurance coverage contributions, it’s no secret that Marks & Spencer and certainly the complete retail sector has some important price headwinds to face into within the new monetary yr.

“Nevertheless, I’ve at all times believed that we should always not enable these headwinds to impression our hourly paid colleagues, which is why at this time, for the third yr in a row, we’re making a document funding in our retail pay supply. This implies we now have now invested nearly £300m in our pay over the previous three years, properly above the speed of inflation, along with our market main low cost and pension supply for colleagues.”