Marks & Spencer is increasing its minimum hourly pay to 10 pounds in the UK as part of a broader enhanced reward package.

The British retailer said the minimum pay of employees across the UK will increase by 50p an hour to 10 pounds, while in London salaries will increase by the same amount to 11.25 pounds.

The pay increase, which comes into effect from April, will impact more than 40,000 Marks & Spencer employees working across the UK.

It puts Marks & Spencer ahead of the UK’s new legal minimum wage of 9.50 pounds an hour for those 23 and over.

Free health checks

In addition, Marks & Spencer said it is enhancing its overall benefits package “to better support colleague wellbeing”. This includes access to a virtual GP service, health check screening and advice on financial management.

The changes come in response to demand from the retailer's staff, who consistently name base pay and health and wellbeing benefits as their top priorities, the retailer said.

“Marks & Spencer is always at its best when we’ve put our people at the heart of it,” said CEO Steve Rowe in a statement. “The contribution our teams have made to support our customers and each other every day through some really challenging times has been remarkable.”

He said the pay increase and reward package ensures colleagues are “properly rewarded and supported”.

In January, Marks & Spencer said it was “more confident” of meeting its full-year profit guidance after reporting strong sales during the important Christmas period.

In the 13 weeks to January 1, group sales came in at 3.27 billion pounds, an 18.5 percent increase on a year earlier and an 8.6 percent increase on two years earlier.

The retailer’s clothing and home department posted revenue of 1.08 billion pounds, up 37.7 percent compared to last year and up 3.2 percent compared to two years ago.