Wages
This coverage examines wage trends and policies in the UK retail sector, focusing on pay levels, employer contributions, labour cost management, and compliance. Reporting highlights how changes in wages impact staffing budgets, recruitment, retention, and operational planning — offering insight for executives, HR leaders, and finance professionals managing workforce investments.
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Jan- 2020 -15 JanuaryAnalysis
Boohoo more valuable than M&S – a sea-change encapsulated
From a purely journalistic standpoint it is now a de facto cliché to refer to Marks and Spencer as the “high street bellwether”, yet that is the status it has held for so many decades. The once mighty monolith was the first British retailer to reach a market capitalisation of…
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Oct- 2019 -21 OctoberHigh Street
Bonmarché enters administration putting 2,900 jobs at risk
Womenswear retailer Bonmarché has entered administration, resulting in around 2,900 jobs being placed at risk including 200 at its head office. With 318 branches located around the UK, Bonmarché appointed FRP Advisory as administrators who said the brand had a “sustained period of challenging trading conditions.” Alastair Massey, Tony Wright…
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10 OctoberSupermarkets
UK grocers criticised over ‘harsh’ working conditions for tea and fruit farmers
Oxfam has alleged that “poor pay” and “harsh working conditions” are commonplace on farms and plantations in Brazil and India which supply tea or fruit to some of the UK’s biggest grocers, according to new research by the charity. The supermarkets named by Oxfam include Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons.…
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Sep- 2019 -3 SeptemberAdvice
Fast fashion and the role that retailers have to play in tackling it
The fashion industry has never been without its critics, but today it seems to be drowning in them. PETA’s iconic ‘I’d rather go naked than wear fur’ billboard campaign of the early nineties, when the likes of Kim Basinger, Pamela Anderson and Christy Turlington were persuaded to get their kit…
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Aug- 2019 -12 AugustAdvice
Calculating holiday pay correctly
We are now in the depths of summer and numerous employees are no doubt enjoying their annual leave entitlement to escape the typical British weather. But whilst their holidays are hopefully trouble-free, calculating holiday pay can be a tricky business. What happens when employers don’t get it right? Background As…
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Jul- 2019 -31 JulyEconomy
Consumer confidence increases by two points in July
Consumer confidence rose by 2 overall to -11 for the month of July, according to GFK’s Consumer Confidence Index. Personal finance situation for the next 12 months continues to recover, +5 for the month, matching the same period last year. The major purchase index increased six points in July to…
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9 JulyEconomy
‘Worst June on record’ for retail sales, says BRC
On a total basis, sales decreased by 1.3% in June, against an increase of 2.3% in June 2018, according to new data from the BRC. The group said the decline dragged the three-month average into a decline of 0.1% and the 12-month average to an increase of 0.6%, the lowest…
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Jun- 2019 -6 JuneHigh Street
‘Huge’ spike in retail job vacancies, says CV-library
The amount of jobs on offer in the retail sector jumped by 56.9% in May. That’s according to the latest job market data from job board CV-Library, which compared findings from May 2019, with the same period last year. According to the firm, “major” retail players such as M&S and…
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May- 2019 -17 MayComment
How Making Tax Digital is going to help the retail sector
Shop closures are an all too familiar scene. A recent study by The Guardian found that English and Welsh town centres have lost 8% of their shops on average since 2013 (equating to 40 shops per town centre). While the sector is riding the waves of a storm, the digitisation…
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Apr- 2019 -26 AprilEconomy
Retail sales growth picks up for first time in five months
Retail sales grew for the first time since November 2018 in the year to April, according to the latest monthly Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Distributive Trades Survey. The survey of 110 firms, of which 55 were retailers, showed that sales volumes rose for the first time in five months,…
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