Our Colleagues
One in four people experience mental ill health issues every year. Mental health is a key driver of absence, low productivity, and a lack of engagement, and importantly, M&S has a responsibility to make sure we’re supporting our colleagues’ wellbeing.
In 2024, M&S are committing to supporting our colleagues’ mental health. This year, by investing in our managers and providing training for them through our charity partners at the Retail Trust, we’re improving mental health and wellbeing support for our store teams. The training is tailored to the mental health and wellbeing challenges which the Retail Trust have identified as affecting people who work in retail, aimed at improving managers’ own wellbeing and the support they provide for their teams.
Inclusion, diversity, and mental health go hand in hand and our Health and Wellbeing network forms part of our community of colleague networks – find out more here. Our Health and Wellbeing network is an internal platform for colleagues to share stories and support their peers. As one of our key Inclusion networks at M&S, the Health and Wellbeing network work closely with their senior sponsors on our executive board, directly influencing business decisions to make M&S a more supportive and more accessible place to work.
Our Benefits
We’re proud to offer our colleagues a range of benefits to help them prioritise their health and wellbeing.
Our partners at PAM Assist provide colleagues with expert wellbeing and mental health support, with counselling and therapy services for colleagues who need them. PAM Assist is available from day 1 of employment at M&S, and this support is signposted in our policies and guides for colleagues and managers.
Through our partnership with YoungMinds, we offer training aimed to give our colleagues the tools to help young people’s mental health and become ‘trusted adults’ for the young people in their lives, whether in their personal lives or at work. We are proud that our colleagues and customers can get involved in the great community work we are doing to raise awareness of young people’s mental health in our stores and in schools across the UK through this partnership.*
After 12 weeks of service, we offer a Virtual GP service for all colleagues and their immediate family to receive medical support through our partner Health Hero. We partner with Check4Cancer to provide breast screening for women aged 40-49 (NHS screening starts at 50) as well as screening for colleagues at high risk of cancer, outside of existing NHS support. Discounts on physical and online gym memberships are available to our colleagues from day 1.
Financial wellbeing benefits we offer include:
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Cushon, a provider which helps colleagues save every month
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Salary Finance, though which colleagues can access repayable loans and financial education
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Pension savings
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M&S Bank offers and preferential rates
We are also proud to partner with GroceryAid, Retail Trust, and the Fashion and Textile Children’s Trust. Through these charities, our colleagues can access practical, emotional, and financial support tailored for those working in the retail industry.