M&S seeks 245 Irish redundancies

Sales were already in decline before Covid, retailer tells staff

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Fearghal O'Connor, Deputy Business Editor

May 02 2021 02:30 AM

Marks & Spencer is seeking 245 voluntary redundancies across its 18 Irish stores as part of a realignment of its business model in Ireland.

The proposed redundancy plan, on which trade unions Mandate and Siptu will ballot staff later this month, was necessary due to a sales decline that pre-dated Covid but that had been accelerated by the pandemic.

Flagship stores in Grafton St and Mary St in Dublin and Patrick St in Cork, as well as at Liffey Valley and Dundrum shopping centres, would bear the brunt of the redundancies but staff at all 18 stores with 10 years’ service could apply.

The proposal, recommended by the two unions for acceptance, was based on “realities” listed in a document, seen by the Sunday Independent.

“Our sales in Ireland had already been in decline prior to Covid-19,” stated the document. M&S had already seen “a major shift to online shopping and a reduction in footfall to our stores before Covid 19”, it said.

“The migration to online shopping accelerated significantly during Covid-19 and this will continue going forward. People working from home and lack of tourists on the ground has impacted our sales in our city centre stores. This will continue for the foreseeable future.

“A very low turnover rate means that we have original staffing levels in these stores despite a significant decrease in sales and a number of contracts which may no longer be appropriate to the current retail environment and business.”

This had resulted in M&S having 250 staff too many across 15 of its 18 Irish stores, although eligible staff at Omni Park and Clarion Quay, both in Dublin, and at Letterkenny, would also be entitled to apply for the redundancy programme ahead of a deadline at the end of this month.

Staff in support functions such as HR, marketing and finance, would also be eligible to apply “following numerous requests from colleagues”, said the document.

Staff with at least 10 years’ service would be eligible for the voluntary package. Applicants would be chosen on a “first-in first-out” basis and would be offered five weeks’ pay per year of service, inclusive of statutory redundancy, capped at two years. They would also receive a once off ex-gratia payment ranging from one week’s pay for those with 21 years’ service to €14,000 for those with 30 years’ service.

“Successful volunteers” will receive an M&S card with one-year discount allowance of €3,000.

After the departure of the agreed number of staff in each store, M&S said it was “committed to keeping the staffing levels under constant review” to reflect any future improvements in trade. It has also committed to entering pay negotiations for remaining staff once the redundancy programme has been completed, said the proposal.

The catering operations utilised by staff at a number of the bigger flagship stores would be converted to a “lounge concept”. All catering staff would be offered voluntary redundancy or an opportunity to redeploy to the shop floor. Those M&S staff employed before 2004 who were contractually entitled to a free meal would be offered “a goodwill gesture” instead.

Asked to comment, an M&S spokesperson said: “We are consulting with Mandate and SIPTU on a voluntary redundancy proposal in the Republic of Ireland.”