M&S scraps staff contracts

MARKS & Spencer chief executive Stuart Rose plans to rip up the contracts of his 66,000 shopfloor staff and change their working practices radically in his attempt to revive the troubled chain.

The plan should see the majority of staff better off financially in return for changes to working hours.

Under new proposals, staff will be required to commit to work more hours at weekends to ensure that tills are fully manned at the stores' busiest times. At present, some staff, unlike those at rival store groups, are not obliged to work at weekends.

Rose said that he inherited 429 different contracts for staff in broadly the same roles when he joined the company last year.

He now wants to simplify the process and claims employees will be better off. 'I have nothing but praise for my staff, who have been at the front line of all the finger-wagging complaints from the public during all our troubles,' he said.

'There is overwhelming support among them to make this company great again. Morale among staff is key if we are to get people to spend money.'

Shopworkers' union Usdaw admitted that M&S still had among the best working conditions on the High Street, but the union claimed that it had been inundated with requests for advice from disillusioned staff.

General Secretary John Hannett said: 'Usdaw understands that M&S is working hard to regain market share.

'We're getting an increasing number of M&S staff joining the union. They want an independent voice within the company to make sure any contractual changes are carried out fairly.'

Usdaw, which is not recognised by M&S, has launched a website, union4marks.org, in a recruitment drive for store staff. The union will lobby for union recognition and a greater voice in the consultation process. However, store bosses say this is not necessary as its own internal consultation groups are made up of staff representatives elected by store workers.

The consultation process will last until the end of next month. Rose said: 'M&S is, and always has been, the most socially responsible company in Britain in terms of how we look after people.

That is not going to change.' The retailer, which already pays above-average wages for the High Street, claims the changes will make its staff among the highest paid in the retail industry.

As part of the changes, M&S has begun a training programme that will see every shop worker undergo a two-day course in customer service.

Rose said: 'The questions we are trying to look at are - do we have the right number of people and do we have the right type of people?'

Rose wants to have the new pay structures in place by the middle of June and is confident he has the support of a large majority of staff for the changes.

But he also sounded a warning, saying: 'We can't afford to carry passengers.'