After department store Marks and Spencer cut Sunday pay, Prime Minister, David Cameron has given retailers a formal warning about undermining the new national living wage.
Not only has the retailer cut Sunday pay, they have also cut anti-social hours pay and bank holiday pay which will roughly leave 11,000 staff up to £2,000 a year worse off. Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh insisted that Mr Cameron "close the loophole."
Other retailers criticised for not sticking by the new wage include Eat, Café Nero, B&Q and Bradgate Bakery.
Commenting, the Mitcham and Morden MP said: "Approximately 11,000 of Marks & Spencer's most loyal employees, many with over 14 years’ service, are about to get a serious pay cut. Cuts to Sunday pay, Bank Holiday and anti-social hours pay, all made on the back of a National Living Wage, means they'll take home less next year than they do this year, with some losing up to £2,000.
"This is not just any pay cut. This is a big, fat Marks and Spencer pay cut."
Replying, David Cameron, said: "Obviously we want to see the national living wage feeding through in to people having higher take home pay not lower take home pay.”
"We would urge all companies to make sure that is the case.
"I haven't seen the information about Marks and Spencer. They know like any retailer that they need to attract and retain and motivate the staff that they have.
"And it's absolutely crucial in retail especially with all the competition with online that they continue to do that and they won't do that if they continue to cut people's pay."
