Marks & Spencer has announced a £95m investment in its retail pay offer. This is the biggest investment M&S has made in its retail pay offer, and the third consecutive increase since Stuart Machin became CEO in 2022, despite new cost pressures from the Government.
From 1st April, the rate of pay for UK customer assistants (approximately 50,000 staff members) will increase from £12 to £12.60 per hour, representing a +5% increase on last year and a +26% increase since 2022, which is double the rate of inflation over the same period (+13.5%). For full-time staff outside of London, that equates roughly to an increase of around £98 per month compared to today’s current rate.
Last year, M&S invested £89m in its UK retail pay and a further £5m annual investment to enhance its maternity, paternity, and adoption policies. The 2025 investment means that since 2022, M&S has invested more than £285m in its retail pay package.
It also means that every UK store employee will continue to be paid the Real Living Wage as their base pay, with M&S’ wide range of benefits – such as its 20% staff discount.
CEO Stuart Machin says: “Following the Government’s 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 £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.”
