British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has decided to invest £57m ($68m) to increase the pay of its hourly paid customer assistants.
The new wage will come into effect from 1 April and apply to more than 40,000 M&S customer assistants across the UK.
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In-store colleagues will see their hourly rate increase from £10.20 to £10.90, while for workers in London, this will increase from £11.25 to £12.05.
According to M&S, the new rate is more than the National Living Wage and matches or exceeds the Real Living Wage.
M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said: “Whether you’re running a home or a business, everyone is trying to balance the reality of rising costs.
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“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.
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By GlobalData“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 announcement comes after M&S invested £46.5m across two separate pay rises during the 2022/23 financial year.
In September last year, the retailer launched a £15m package to help its employees deal with rising living costs.
Over the last two years, M&S’ hourly rate of pay has risen by more than 20%.
Following the latest investment, the company’s full-time customer assistants will earn nearly £150 more each month than in the same period a year ago.
In addition to the pay rise, M&S is extending its package of financial and wellbeing colleague benefits to include discounts, pension contributions, share schemes, a virtual GP service and other benefits.
The retailer has worked with colleague representatives in its Business Involvement Group (BIG) to ensure the benefits package reflects its colleagues’ changing needs.
