Marks & Spencer (M&S) chief executive Stuart Rose has indicated that he plans to rip up the contracts of his 66,000 staff and change their working practices.
The Mail On Sunday said the new contracts will leave staff better off financially, in return for changes to working hours.
Staff will be required to work longer hours at weekends to ensure that tills are fully manned during the stores’ busiest periods.
Rose said he had inherited 429 different contracts for staff when he joined the company last year. He told the paper: “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.”
Shopworkers union Usdaw said M&S still has some of the best working conditions in the sector, but that it had been inundated with requests for advice from its staff.
Usdaw is not recognised by M&S, but the union is actively running a recruitment campaign throughout the country.
The plan for M&S contracts is the latest attempt to revive the fortunes of the troubled high street store, which reported another drop in profits last week.
