‘This means we have now invested almost £300m in our pay over the past three years, well above the rate of inflation, in addition to our market leading discount and pension offer for colleagues’
Marks & Spencer has announced a pay increase for its shop floor staff, coinciding with the UK’s minimum wage increase this April.
The high street giant is set to boost the wages of around 50,000 in-store assistants by 5%, taking their hourly rate from £12 to £12.60. This move comes just ahead of the national living wage increasing to £12.21 an hour on April 1. As of January, the UK’s inflation rate was 3%
M&S said it is spending about £95m to make the changes, which will also see workers in London and mid-managers get a raise. London customer assistants are looking at an hourly increase to £13.85 from £13.15, while team support managers will enjoy a rise to £13.65 from £13.05, with their London counterparts seeing a jump to £14.90 from £14.20.
This follows in the footsteps of wage increases by Sainsbury’s, Lidl, and other retailers earlier in the year. M&S chief Stuart Machin has been vocal about the financial pressures the store faces due to the October Budget changes kicking in next month, including the minimum wage hike and rising employer national insurance contributions (NICs), which aim to funnel more funds into public services like the NHS.
On Wednesday, he reiterated these concerns, with the company expecting an additional £120m in costs. Mr Machin highlighted that it’s “no secret” M&S is bracing for “significant cost headwinds” as they enter April.
“However, I have always believed that we should not allow these headwinds to impact our hourly paid colleagues,” he added. “This means we have now invested almost £300m in our pay over the past three years, well above the rate of inflation, in addition to our market leading discount and pension offer for colleagues.”