Three investor groups have filed shareholder resolutions at retail giants Next, M&S and JD Sports aiming to address the issue of poverty wages in their workforces.
Co-ordinated by responsible investment NGO, ShareAction, 115 individual investors are behind the resolutions, with seven institutional investors managing over £1trn in assets – including AXA Investment Managers, Scottish Widows, Trust for London, the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and Cardano Group co-filing the resolution at Next.
The resolution at M&S is being backed by Scottish Widows and Friends Provident Foundation, who are also supporting the resolution at JD Sports with Cardano Group.
As cost-of-living pressures and the soaring prices of essential goods and services continues to hit low paid workers the hardest, shareholders are calling for more transparency from retailers on how many of their staff are being paid below a real Living Wage based on the true cost-of-living.
Catherine Howarth OBE, chief executive at ShareAction, said: “The UK’s biggest retailers are failing to support their workers with a real Living Wage, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in the sector struggling to make ends meet.
“Companies whose workforce earn less than a real Living Wage are ultimately harming the vitality and growth of the UK economy, with business models that put pressure on workers, their families and the state by adding to health and welfare costs.
“The long-term orientated responsible investors backing these resolutions are calling on companies across the retail sector, including Next, M&S and JD Sports, for the information required to assess the business risks of low pay and the affordability and business benefits of the real Living Wage. This is a critical first step to better protect their staff and make our economy fairer and healthier.”
‘Meaningful change requires sector-wide progress’
Recently, the Living Wage Foundation reported that almost a quarter of UK retail workers – 818,000 people – are not being paid a real Living Wage, almost double the national average, despite evidence showing that implementing a real Living Wage has tangible business benefits, from increased productivity to reduced turnover.
Currently, JD Sports meets the National Living Wage requirement (£12.21 from April 2025), with no regional pay weighting to reflect differences in the cost of living in more expensive areas such as London. Next pays just its staff who are over 21 the National Living Wage, with some regional pay weighting for London, though this does not accurately reflect the difference in the cost-of-living in the area.
M&S has recently made a significant investment in its directly paid staff by paying a real Living Wage (£12.60). However, it has not matched this commitment for its third-party contracted staff such as security guards and cleaners, who keep its stores safe and clean.
The resolutions will go to a vote at the companies’ annual general meetings, taking place in mid-May for Next and later in the summer for M&S and JD Sports. Investors have put forward the motions around disclosure on low pay to drive up standards across the entire sector, equipping investors with the workforce data they need to act as effective stewards of the companies they hold shares in.
Many of the investors backing the resolutions are part of ShareAction’s Good Work investor group representing £5.6trn in assets under management, which attended the AGMs of the UK’s biggest retailers last year to make the case for these businesses to end poverty pay.
Charlie Crossley, investment engagement manager at Friends Provident Foundation, added: “Ensuring better pay for low-wage workers, including in retail, addresses the deep inequality in our society and helps build a fair economy. If more major companies committed to real Living Wage accreditation, it would empower thousands of workers to meet everyday costs and save for life’s critical moments. It would also advance workplace equality- key to maintaining social cohesion and long-term economic stability.
“Meaningful change requires sector-wide progress. That’s why investors are co-filing resolutions across multiple companies. These resolutions focus on transparency, giving investors a vital data foundation for the retail sector to move further towards fair pay for all workers.”
