New regulation is at risk of “banning the Saturday job”, denying thousands of young people a first step into work, according to M&S CEO Stuart Machin.
Retail can provide a gateway to employment for those with little experience and an opportunity to grow confidence while learning skills on the job, but has been “left out of most visions for economic growth”.
Writing a blog, Machin said it was getting harder for employers to offer the “low-risk” part-time jobs that gave him his first opportunity aged 16.
“New regulations dissuade employers from offering a shift or two a week, and the red tape around work experience often makes it prohibitive to offer,” Machin said. “We’re at risk of not only disincentivising the Saturday job, but banning it.
“Across the economy, entry‑level jobs are being squeezed,” he added. “AI is reshaping traditional school‑leaver and graduate roles, rising wage costs are accelerating automation, and in a volatile economy employers are becoming more cautious about hiring.
“Retail is not immune from these pressures. But it will remain, alongside hospitality, the key sector that provides opportunities to people struggling to enter the world of work. Retail employs over three million – one in 10 private‑sector workers. And it will remain a people-driven sector. AI will improve efficiency, but it won’t stack shelves.
“Yet retail and hospitality have been left out of most visions for economic growth. Politicians momentarily become interested in the ‘everyday economy’, but they quickly become distracted by flashier industries. That lack of interest is reflected in the range of cost pressures facing retail: business rates, packaging taxes, energy tariffs, National Insurance rises. If we valued retail as the first rung on the jobs ladder we would surely take a different approach.”
Recounting his own entrance to work, pushing trolleys at a SavaCentre aged 16, Machin said: “My first job was a single weekly shift that gradually grew into full‑time work. It gave my employer a low-risk way to try me out and meant I could dip my toe into the world of work without it seeming overwhelming…
“And yet we seem to be making these sorts of experiences harder to come by. New regulations dissuade employers from offering a shift or two a week, and the red tape around work experience often makes it prohibitive to offer. We’re at risk of not only disincentivising the Saturday job, but banning it.”
Machin also railed against the Apprenticeship Levy for not sufficiently recognising practical skill development. “In retail you learn on the job,” he said. “Almost all retailers completely integrate learning and development with their core operation. At M&S, we have regional academy stores where the store manager has full responsibility for their sales but also for developing talent across their region.
“For so many of the young people that work with us, that approach to learning is perfect. They’ve struggled in a classroom setting and are allergic to any form of exam. They can work their way up from a Christmas temp to a store manager just by building their skill set on the shop floor.
“That’s why I find the Apprenticeship Levy maddening. Foundational, practical skill development goes unrecognised, but we can draw down levy funds as soon as someone goes to a college or university. No wonder many employers treat the levy as a tax. And I’ve seen first-hand the challenges that my 16-year-old nephew is having in navigating the apprenticeship system’s relentless bureaucracy.
“That’s not to say there aren’t amazing opportunities for apprenticeships across our business, like data analysts or engineers in our distribution centres. But fundamentally it’s not the right model for most of our colleagues that work on the shop floor.”
Machin said: “My hope is that this review serves as a call to arms for people across society, at all stages of their careers, to roll their sleeves up and serve as that source of optimism and aspiration. Because today we’re losing out on limitless potential, and letting down a generation of kids just like me.”
No comments yet