Marks and Spencer (M&S) has detailed a £15 million support package to support its colleagues throughout the cost-of-living crisis.

From 1 October, the retailer will increase 40,000 of its employees’ hourly pay to a minimum of £10.20, which follows a previous pay increase from £9.50 to £10 in April.

Combined, the figure represents an annual uplift of 7.4 per cent and means a full-time customer assistant will earn over £100 more each month compared to October 2021, M&S said.

In addition to the pay increase, M&S is set to give employees additional support and benefits, which are based on M&S’s colleague listening scheme Straight to Stuart and feedback from colleagues at its Business Involvement Group (BIG).

The retailer will also offer a free meal per shift for colleagues at its distribution centre in Castle Donnington and free sanitary products to colleagues across all stores and sites.

“Whether you’re running a home or running a business, everyone across the country is feeling the pressure of rising costs,” said Stuart Machin, chief executive at Marks & Spencer: “We want to do what we can to help ease some of that strain; that's why we have invested in price to deliver better value for our customers and, why we are investing in our colleague base pay for the second time this year.”

He added: “Our colleagues are our biggest asset, and we want to ensure they are fully supported and rewarded for the remarkable contribution they make to M&S.”

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