// Frasers Group to cut exec team salary from May
// Annual salaries will be cut to only £40,000
// Warehouse staff, including those on zero hours contracts, would get their full salaries for this month
Mike Ashley has informed the executive team of Frasers Group that they will have their annual salaries cut to only £40,000 after April.
The billionaire retail tycoon pledged to pay all staff for the next month, informing them on Tuesday that it had guaranteed salaries until the end of April.
While warehouse staff, including those on zero hours contracts, would get their full salaries for this month, Ashley couldn’t commit to paying them beyond that.
READ MORE:
- Coronavirus: Sports Direct to “expect consequences” for defying rules, PM says
- Mike Ashley apologises to staff for handling of Frasers Group’s coronavirus response
Ashley himself does not take a salary from Frasers Group but owns 62 per cent of the company.
He said that the senior management team had taken a voluntary pay cut to reduce their basic pay to a maximum of £40,000 a year.
Finance chief Chris Wootton had been due to take a basic salary of £150,000 this year.
Ashley said the pay cuts were a way of showing support towards securing the future of Frasers Group.
The news comes after Ashley issued a public apology over his attempts to keep Sports Direct shops open despite the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Frasers Group was criticised for potentially risking workers’ health by reportedly disobeying Covid-19 safety standards inside its warehouses, and lashed out at temporary recruitment agencies that provided thousands of staff to its Derbyshire depot.
Last week, Ashley apologised for “ill-judged and poorly timed” emails to the government and poor communication with employees and the public.
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