M&S suspends pay 'whistleblower'

By Martin Shankleman Employment correspondent, BBC News

The firm says its scheme will still be superior to those of rivals

A worker at Marks and Spencer who "blew the whistle" on plans to cut redundancy pay for the firm's 70,000 staff is being disciplined by the company.

The employee contacted the media last week over proposals to reduce redundancy payouts by up to 25%.

The GMB union says the man, who works at the corporate head office in Central London, has now been suspended.

He will face a disciplinary hearing next Monday, at which he will be represented by the union.

Marks and Spencer refused to comments on the reports, saying it was "an internal matter and an investigation is under way".

The company confirmed that it was consulting staff about cutting the level of redundancy payments, which would limit maximum payouts from 72 weeks to 52 weeks.

A spokeswoman said:

"It's about making sure our policies are up to date. We have benchmarked our benefits and we're still coming out ahead of our competitors".

Union fears

The GMB claims that M&S wants to change the redundancy payments in advance of announcing a new wave of redundancies.

GMB General Secretary Paul Kenny said:

"We are fearful that job cuts are on the way at M&S; why else would they cut their existing policy if they did not intend to use it?"

He also accused the company of double standards in its treatment of staff.

"Why do people at the bottom get the sack on the cheap, while top bosses get large payouts even when they have messed up?"

Under the plans, which are being considered by employee representatives, a typical 49 year old employee with 30 years service would see his payoff fall from �35,000 to �26,000.

Those aged over 41 would get 3 weeks pay per year served, instead of the current 3.75 , while staff aged between 22 and 40 would receive 2 weeks instead of 2.5.

A spokeswoman for M&S said " "The consultation is underway, and we do this from time to time... should the proposal be agreed, our redundancy terms will still be more generous than the majority of our competitors".

The GMB contrasted the proposed changes with the �500,000 it says was paid to Steve Esom, M&S's former director of food, who left in July.

M&S, which has 70,000 UK staff, wants to introduce the changes by the beginning of September.

The High Street retailer halved staff bonuses in May despite reporting a 4.3% rise in annual profits to �1bn.

At the time it also said it was cautious about its prospects for the next 12 months.

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