High street giant Marks and Spencer (M&S) has announced a massive investment that will see an hourly pay rise for workers. The retailer says the change will be across all stores and will affect more than 40,000 workers who will see the increase from April.
The investment amounts to almost £60 million in staff wages with customer assistants receiving an hourly pay increase to £10.90 from £10.20 from April 1. The rate will be higher than the national living wage which has been set at £10.42 an hour for those over the age of 23 from April this year.
London employees will see their hourly wages upped to £12.05 from £11.25. According to the MEN, the retailer thinks shoppers will agree its a positive step in the right direction with the £57 million investment being its biggest yet in front-line workers’ rewards.
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The change will mean around 62% of its 65,000 employees will benefit from a salary boost.
The move follows two separate pay rises in the past year meaning that full-time customer assistants will earn nearly £150 a month more, compared to the same time last year, M&S has said. It also means that the hourly rate of pay has risen by more than 20% in just over two years, which the group stressed is inflation-beating as the UK’s consumer prices index (CPI) reaching a peak of 11.1% late last year.
Stuart Machin, chief executive at M&S, said: "Whether you’re running a home or a business, everyone is trying to balance the reality of rising costs. Of course, we all hope inflation subsides, and there are some positive signs that it is doing so, but we need to help colleagues in the here-and-now.
"That’s why we are investing so significantly in our hourly rates of pay and why we are supporting colleagues with a continued commitment to our wide-ranging package of industry leading benefits."
The news from M&S comes after ASDA and Tesco also announced pay rises for their staff. The latter's store workers will see their hourly wage go up from £10.30 to £11.02 from April 2, according to PA.
Tesco has also increased its “additional skills payment” for shift leaders to £2.26, taking their hourly wage to £13.28. Asda has also confirmed it will increase staff pay by 10% for 115,000 workers in spring.
The pay rise will see the hourly rate at the supermarket rise from £10.10 an hour to £11 in April, then to £11.11 an hour in July. The rates for workers inside the M25 will increase from £11.27 an hour to £12.17 in April, then to £12.28 an hour in July.
Sainsbury's currently pays workers £10.25 an hour, or £11.30 an hour if they're in a London store. Morrisons workers are paid a minimum of £10.20 an hour, or £11.05 inside the M25.
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