Labour MP Siobhain MacDonagh has said that thousands of Marks & Spencers staff face redundancy if they do not accept the changes to their pay.
Marks & Spencers staff are allegedly facing the prospect of losing their job if they refused to accept the changes to pay and pensions, according to a leaked document received by MacDonagh.
The leaked internal document headlined “pay and pension changes” mentions a collective consultation for dissenters if required” which a timetable reveals to begin on November 14 and the notice period for staff starting on December 19.
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In response to MacDonagh, M&S have said the consultation was just one option being considered and was adamant it was not planning to cut any employee jobs.
The retailer said that the consultation plan staff who rejected the new conditions would have their current contracts terminated, then be offered a fresh contract with new terms.
“The company has no intention that anyone would leave as a result of these changes,” a spokesperson for M&S told The Guardian.
“The changes, which will take effect from April, will reward our people in a fair and consistent way, simplify and modernise our business and make our colleagues amongst the highest paid in UK retail.
“Nobody need be worse off and the vast majority will receive higher total pay.”
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This revelation follows weeks of conflict between staff and M&S bosses over the proposed pay changes.
MacDonagh has been at the forefront of the debate, presenting the retailer with a 90,000 petition to scrap the proposed changes to which it responded with improved measures to help the 2700 effected staff.
An open letter signed by MPs calling on M&S bosses to freeze their pay for three years to match staff pay was also submitted by MacDonagh but was rejected by bosses.
RELATED: M&S agree to increase financial support for affected staff
The proposed pay changes will cut Sunday pay, bank holiday pay and anti-social hours pay.
M&S have said from the start they would make up the difference of those effected until 2019, meaning staff won‘t feel the effects for three years.
M&S also said they were making the changes so they could increase the pay of all its staff by 15 per cent to £8.50 an hour, well above the National Minimum Wage.
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