Marks & Spencer announces biggest-ever investment in retail pay

Marks & Spencer has confirmed its biggest-ever investment in retail pay from 1 April, committing a record £95 million, despite new cost pressures from the Government.

The rate of pay for UK customer assistants, which accounts for approximately 50,000 colleagues, will increase from £12 to £12.60 per hour. This represents a 5% rise on last year and 26% growth since 2022, which is double the rate of inflation over the same period (13.5%).

For a full-time colleagues outside of London, that’s an increase of around £98 per month compared to today’s current rate. For customer assistants working in London, the hourly rate will rise from £13.15 to £13.85, reflecting a 5.3% increase on last year.

Meanwhile, the hourly rate for UK team support managers will increase from £13.05 to £13.65. For those in London, it will grow from £14.20 to £14.90.

The newly announced increases come after the department store invested £89 million in its UK retail pay and a further £5 million annual investment to enhance its maternity, paternity, and adoption policies last year.

Today's investment means that since 2022, Marks & Spencer has invested more than £285 million in its retail pay package. It also means that every UK store colleague will continue to be paid the Real Living Wage as their base pay, alongside a wide range of benefits – such as its 20% colleague discount.

Stuart Machin, CEO at Marks & Spencer, said: "Following the recent increases in tax and national insurance contributions, it’s no secret that M&S and indeed the entire retail sector has some significant cost headwinds to face into in the new financial year.

"However, I have always believed that we should not allow these headwinds to impact our hourly paid colleagues, which is why today, for the third year in a row, we are making a record investment in our retail pay offer. This means we have now invested almost £300 million 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 Marks & Spencer colleagues."

It marks the third consecutive increase since Machin became CEO in 2022, despite new cost pressures from the Government.

Last month, Machin called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to "act now" and make changes to her tax plans. "The blunt truth is, left how it is, the Budget means UK retail will get smaller," he wrote.

"At Marks & Spencer we are growing, but others are not and there is no doubt that there will be fewer jobs, fewer shops, and slower wage growth across the retail sector as a whole."