As their annual general meetings (AGMs) draw near this week, investors are once again focussing on JD Sports, M&S, and Sainsbury’s due to their low wages and lack of salary transparency.
ShareAction, a responsible investing group, is submitting shareholder resolutions to M&S and JD Sports, demanding comprehensive disclosures on the number of workers who make less than the real living wage, which is presently £13.85 in London and £12.60 nationwide for those 21 and older.
A rising issue in the retail industry, ShareAction is also advocating for pay transparency for third-party contractors.
Shareholders want to ask the board directly over pay policy and the viability of paying all employees, including contractors, the actual living wage during Sainsbury’s AGM on Thursday, 3rd July.
M&S claims that third-party contractors determine their own compensation and maintains that the majority of them make at least the actual living wage, even though it pays its direct employees at least that amount. JD Sports is criticised for not being clear about contractor compensation and for just paying the legally required minimum wage.
Citing a 26% increase in its normal hourly wage and over £285 million invested in employee pay since 2022, M&S’s board advises against the resolution. In a similar vein, JD Sports urges shareholders to turn down the plan, pointing out that it has made investments to raise wages and benefits during the previous three years.
The largest independent shareholder advisory firm in Europe, Pensions & Investment Research Consultants, endorses the resolutions at both firms, stating that in order to manage risk and foster resilience, more transparency and wage promises for outsourced employees are required.
