Retail

Asda has announced that its hourly-paid store employees will see an 8.4% increase in their pay effective 1 July.

Currys has implemented a 9.5% increase in base pay for all of its hourly-paid store colleagues, to £11.50, for 2024.

Sainsbury's has announced plans to cut 1,500 jobs as part of an ongoing programme to streamline operations.

The Body Shop is to close 75 shops in the UK over the coming weeks and cut 489 jobs, according to FRP Advisory, the administrator that is managing its restructuring.

What rights and protections are afforded to The Body Shop’s affected employees in the wake of the company entering administration and closing branches?

The stores that will close immediately include four in London, where rents and other overheads are highest.

Violence and abuse against retail staff increased by 50% last year, according to the British Retail Consortium.

The Body Shop is set to appoint administrators this week, with job losses and store closures looking likely.

Marks & Spencer’s group HR director has joined calls for the apprenticeship scheme to be overhauled and simplified.

Lidl has increased pay for around 26,000 employees, its third rise in 12 months.

Store management roles at home improvements retailer Wickes are now part of a flexible working model being rolled out at the firm’s 230 stores worldwide.

Retail job lossses totalled almost 120,000 in 2023, according to the Centre for Retail Research.

Sainsbury’s will increase minimum pay for employees outside London to £12 an hour, with wages for staff inside the M25 increasing to £13.15 an hour.

Letter states the levy should be altered to help employers reduce labour shortages and fund courses shorter than one year.

Online marketplace Etsy is shedding 225 jobs, about 11% of its workforce, as part of a plan to bring down its costs.