Sports Direct has performed well, coming in just behind B&Q-owner Kingfisher in the FTSE 100 retailer’s pay league, with the average worker taking home £5,000 more even than at major clothing retailers.
Marks & Spencer came third in the league, with an average wage of £16,900 whilst Morrisons beat its supermarket rivals, paying £16,400 on average compared to Tesco’s £16,300 and Sainsbury’s £15,200.
Binary options trading firm Banc De Binary said an average Next worker takes home £12,900, compared to Sports Direct which pays its workers an average of £17,900 per year.
Analysts have said that part of the reason for the discrepancy is that Next heavily relies on part-time, weekend and seasonal staff, which pushes down its average pay per worker.
Although up to 90% of Sports Direct’s employees are hired on zero-hours contracts, the company operates a relatively generous bonus scheme, seeing them ranked second in the pay league, after home improvement firm Kingfisher, which topped the list paying £20,300 on average
Founder of Banc De Binary, Oren Laurent said: “Next has adapted to the peaks and troughs of its business by staffing accordingly, meaning it staffs up for peaks with temporary workers.
With the controversy over zero-hours contracts, some may find it surprising to see that Sports Direct is actually one of the more generous retailers in the FTSE 100 when it comes to pay.
For staff who have stayed with the company long enough to enter its bonus scheme, working for Sports Direct has turned out to be quite a lucrative career.”
