Marks & Spencer has said it will increase pay for its thousands of shop workers at the same time as the minimum wage rises across the UK in April.
The retailer said about about 50,000 in-store assistants will get a 5% raise to £12.60 an hour, up from the current rate of £12.
The previous bottom rate would be below the new UK national living wage, which rises to £12.21 an hour on April 1.
M&S said it is spending about £95 million to make the changes, which will also see workers in London and mid-managers get a raise.
Customer assistants in the capital will get an hourly pay increase to £13.85, up from £13.15.
And team support managers will get a pay rise to £13.65, from £13.05, while those in London will see that increase to £14.90, from £14.20.
The move follows similar increases for workers at Sainsbury’s, Lidl and other retailers, announced earlier this year.
M&S chief executive Stuart Machin has complained in recent months that the shop will be hit by changes made in the October Budget, which come into effect next month.
Those include the minimum wage increase, as well as rising employer national insurance contributions (NICs), which are designed to fund improvements to public services like the NHS.
On Wednesday, he pointed to the policies again, which the company has said will add £120 million in costs.
Mr Machin said it is “no secret” that M&S is facing “significant cost headwinds” heading into 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 £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 colleagues.”
