Yahoo Finance M&S to pay female boss £750,000 for working four-day week
Marks & Spencer will pay its first female chief executive a £750,000 salary for working a four-day week, effectively almost £140,000 more than her male counterpart who will work full-time.
Katie Bickerstaffe was announced as the high street stalwart’s co-chief executive alongside Stuart Machin in March.
Mr Machin, who is de-facto chief executive and whom Ms Bickerstaffe will report to, will receive an annual salary of £800,000.
However, if Ms Bickerstaffe worked a full week, she would be paid more than £937,000 based on the new hourly rate, surpassing Mr Machin’s pay.
Sources said that the two roles often involve working long hours and calculating their salaries on a pro rata basis was not an accurate reflection of their contribution to the business..
The high street chain was accused of serving up “M&S fudge” when it first announced the dual leadership in March after Steve Rowe, its boss of six years, said he was stepping down.
Chairman Archie Norman defended the move at the time saying the unusual arrangement meant the business could retain top talent and offer continuity as they seek to modernise the chain.
Ms Bickerstaffe is M&S’ first female leader in its 138-year history. Previously the boss of Dixons Carphone’s UK and Ireland business, she joined the retailer’s board as a non-executive director in 2018 and was persuaded by Mr Norman to switch to an executive role two years later.
A mother of two, she is a proponent of flexible working, having opted for a four-day working week in her previous roles over the years.
“At some point you’re looking at stuff seven days a week [in a senior management role],” she said in an interview last year.
“We’re [M&S] a seven day a week, 24-hour operation and that’s what you do, but I’ve always done that [four day] because it gives me the freedom to spend some downtime with my kids and not feel that I don’t have the opportunity to do that during the week. It really matters to me.”
She added: “Everyone that works for me knows that I’ve always had my phone with me, I always check through stuff, there’s never ever been a problem with it.”
The flexible working pattern is understood to have been an impediment in securing the top job at M&S.
Mr Machin joined M&S to run its food business in 2018 with nearly 30 years’ experience working in food, fashion and homewares.
He is credited with assisting Mr Rowe and Mr Norman with the retailer’s latest turnaround that began in June 2020. He has focused on lowering prices to convince more families to do their “full weekly shop” with M&S.
The company said in its annual report that “there was careful deliberation when setting the pay arrangements for Stuart and Katie” and that a number of factors were taken into consideration including different work patterns, their experience and skill and the responsibilities of each, as well as external market factors.
The two chiefs and Eoin Tonge, M&S’s finance boss who is also taking on enhanced responsibilities, could earn more than £15m between them for the current financial year when bonuses are taken into account.
According to M&S’ pay report, Mr Machin could earn £5.4m and Ms Bickerstaffe £5.1m. Mr Tonge could be in line for £4.5m.
To achieve this, they are required to hit stretching targets and drive a 50pc increase in the company’s share price. The executives will be eligible to be considered for a salary review in July next year.
Meanwhile, Mr Rowe saw his pay and bonus package more than double to £2.6m for the past year. It is only the second time he has received a bonus during his six years as chief executive.
M&S’s pay packages are set independently by its remuneration committee.
