B&M Retail

clockwatcher0909

Does anyone here work for B&M Retail?

My daughter has been a supervisor now for approximately 3 months. She found out today that her rate of pay has been revised and is now £12.89 per hour which is only 18 pence higher than the minimum wage of £12.71

The supervisor rate used to be 30 pence above the minimum wage but now it works out at only 18 pence above the new minimum wage.

I don't think I've ever known a company to pay someone an extra 18 pence an hour to ultimately be in control of one of their stores when the Manager isn't there. Is this rate of pay on a par with other retailers? I'd be keen to know. It seems very very unfair.

lincroft1710

Even if other retailers pay more, B&M don't have to match their wage rates or even have the same rates for different branches. Is this a "probationary" rate, i.e. at the end of 6 or 12 months, might there be a more substantial rate?

If your daughter feels aggrieved by her new pay rate, she should discuss it informally with her manager on a basis of "Is this correct as I thought a supervisor was paid more?"

born_again

I think the fact that a supervisor role is only pennies above the NMW (even before) tells you everything you need to know.🤷‍♀️😶‍🌫️

maman

It would seem that B&M have been required to increase the minimum wage but haven't preserved the differential.

If OP's daughter wants to stay as a supervisor then she needs to speak with management, perhaps collectively with other supervisors. 🤔

clockwatcher0909

Thanks for the feedback. I need to speak with my daughter about the situation but I do know it has knocked the stuffing out of her. The differential is literally nothing and for what the company expect of her, I'd rather she just went back to a non-managerial role with less pressure and responsibility. 18 pence extra an hour is an absolute disgrace.

webmasterpolo

Perhaps she can use the leadership experience she is building to seek promotion to manager inside or indeed outside of B&M when opportunities present. Regardless of the current pay difference her next job could pay significantly more because of that added experience so I wouldn't be too quick to drop back a level and lose that opportunity.

As maman said it's likely just the min wage going up and B&M getting hit with the massive increase in NI with the higher rate and lower threshold (huge added cost for business like B&M) which has caused them to reduce the differential.

My advice would be update the CV and keep an eye out for managerial retail jobs, 3mths experience isn't much yet, but 12 months could land her a much better paid job.

Best of luck

-Web

Savvy_Sue

As long as she's paid more than NMW, and as long as she's paid what her contract says, B&M can do what they like.

She could indeed ask to return to a non-supervisory role (but she'd have to stand firm if there was then pressure to 'act up' for the odd task or occasion), or she could look for better paid work elsewhere.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6665157/b-m-retail

Just to confirm, the new rate of pay is higher than the old rate of pay. Is that correct?

If so, it seems as though what has happened is all grades above NMW received a standard inflationary rise at whatever percentage uplift was set by the company. From the figures given, that looks like 3% so her wage changed from £12.51 to £12.89. In the current climate, 3% is a fair increase.

The employer is also required to ensure that the individuals on NMW increase from £12.21 to £12.71 which is 4.1%. This seems to reflect a general societal desire to raise the income for the lowest earners. It means the lowest earners receive a rise greater than the levels above them and reduces the income gap.

It is a challenge for the employers. They are probably aware that there will be Supervisors, like your Daughter, who feel the narrowing differential is not fair and makes the extra responsibility unattractive. There is no easy solution for the business. They probably assume that if some Supervisors leave as a result of the narrow differential, they will be able to recruit replacements from the current pool of NMW rate employees.

Lifting the Supervisor rate by the same 4.1% as the NMW rate would just move the same narrowing differential to the next step up.

While I totally understand your Daughter's frustration, the most pragmatic thing is probably to continue in role and use the experience (plus any training) to prove her management skills to move on to another role elsewhere that is able to pay an enhanced reward package.

justwhat

Move jobs. B&M pay NMW for General assistants. There are allot of retailers that pay above NMW. The pay structures at Morrisons and B&M are shocking.

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81972512#Comment_81972512

I expect the wage is set over all shops in the chain so it unlikely her manager can do anything about it.

If she is not happy then other retail outlets are available.

zanemeddowswife

I am in the same boat. I work for them and I think it's not fair please get your daughter to contact the union! I am getting as many supervisors unhappy with this to do the same. Its the only way we will get anything to change. The amount of work we do for the little pay we get is bad enough but this is just not on. I have been there for over 7 years and never once has it changed from been 30p above minimum wage no matter how much the yearly increase has been.