What: Marks & Spencer will hire 11,000 seasonal staff for Christmas at £13.41 an hour, with the first starting on 25 October.

Why it is important: M&S is adding more seasonal roles than John Lewis, at a higher starting rate outside London, while rising labour costs push UK retailers towards job cuts and automation.

Marks & Spencer announced on 8 October that it will recruit 11,000 new staff for the festive period. Applications are now open, and the first new colleagues will join from 25 October. The roles pay £13.41 per hour, and successful applicants will receive training and support.

Thinus Keeve, retail director at M&S, said store colleagues play an important part in "delivering the magic of M&S at Christmas", and that the retailer looks forward to welcoming 11,000 new colleagues to its teams this year. New recruits will be given "the training, tools and support they need to get up to speed quickly", he said, adding that what matters most is "bringing energy, curiosity and a real commitment to doing the right thing for our customers and working as part of the team."

The announcement follows John Lewis's plan, unveiled at the start of September, to hire 10,400 seasonal staff. Pay for its seasonal vacancies starts at £13 an hour, or £14.55 in London, rising to £13.25 and £14.80 respectively after 30 days of employment. M&S's rate therefore sits above John Lewis's starting rate outside London.

IADS Notes: M&S's 11,000 festive hires exceed the 10,400 seasonal roles John Lewis Partnership is recruiting this year. The John Lewis figure is down from a record 13,700 last Christmas, and its pay starts at £13 an hour, or £14.55 in London (Drapers, September 2026). M&S's £13.41 rate follows a round of shop-floor pay rises across UK retail: 6.4% at M&S, 6.9% at John Lewis, 5.1% at Tesco, 4% at Asda and 6% at Selfridges (Drapers, April 2026). John Lewis's increase costs £108m a year and raised its minimum rates to £13.25, or £14.80 in London (John Lewis press release, February 2026). These rises come as UK government reforms raise labour costs and push retailers towards automation, restructuring and job cuts (Reuters, February 2026). The same pressures took retail employment to its lowest level on record, with retailers holding back on holiday-season hiring (Retail Week, December 2025). Large festive hiring drives also show how much retailers now rely on store staff: demand for John Lewis's advisory services rose by more than 5% in the first half as it repositions its stores around expertise rather than product range (Drapers, September 2026).

M&S to recruit 11,000 festive staff