THE boss of Marks & Spencer has hit out at Labour’s plans to make working from home a legal right, saying it was “divorced from reality”.
Stuart Machin told The Sun: “It should be up to the individual businesses to decide what is best for their business and how they can provide the best options and opportunities for the people in their workplace.”
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The chief executive, whose firm employs 65,000 people, said retailers are open seven days a week and often have needs “that don’t fit into an artificial nine-to-five timeline”.
He added: “We expect our frontline colleagues to be in store or the distribution centre covering seven days a week.
“This proposal is divorced from the reality our colleagues face and it risks putting a wedge between management and the frontline.”
Last week Angela Rayner, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work, said the party could copy French legislation and give staff the right to switch off their phones for a break from “constant emails”.
Meanwhile Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is also considering giving Brits a legal right to work from home if Labour wins the next election.
The move has sparked a backlash in the business community, with warnings that it would undo months of charm offensive breakfasts with City leaders by Sir Keir and his Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Mr Machin said: “The last thing business needs is more dictating from Government — particularly proposals that seem designed to appeal to white-collar workers.”
He added: “Dictating working arrangements will ingrain inflexible working and be unproductive and counter to growth.”
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Andy Higginson, chairman of JD Sports, said he was “implacably opposed to making working from home a legal right.”
And David Potts, boss of Morrisons, said: “Legislation is still no substitute for a boss who helps you and makes dignity at work everyone’s right.”
Even Claire Campbell at Timewise, a consultancy focused on flexible working, said working hours should be up to business to decide, adding: “The onus should be on leaders and managers to make sure they are aware if they have people consistently working in addition to their normal hours, and to then seek to understand why.”
Cigs boss is out
British American Tobacco — maker of Camel cigarettes and Vuse vapes — yesterday stubbed out its chief executive’s career with the company.
BAT announced Jack Bowles is leaving after four years.
It is understood the decision was made by the board, which has named Brazilian-born finance chief Tadeu Marroco as his replacement.
Mr Marroco signalled he is confident the company is on the “right strategic path”.
Mr Bowles’ departure comes after BAT paid a £511million penalty for breaching US sanctions.
Center Parcs for sale
CENTER Parcs has been put on the market with a £5billion price tag by its Canadian owners.
Brookfield hopes to cash in on the growing trend for staycations and double its money after buying the business for around £2.4billion in 2015.
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And Brookfield Property Partners has been sounding out other private equity firms about a sale, the Financial Times reported.
It considered selling the business last year after bouncing back to a profit following the pandemic.
It is thought that its sales and profits have jumped even higher since as families flocked back to its five resorts.
Center Parcs has been accused of hiking prices in school holidays, with a basic week’s stay costing upwards of £2,000, against £900 in term-time.
Wandisco inferno
TROUBLED data firm Wandisco has warned it will run out of cash in two months if it fails to raise £24million.
Its shares have already been suspended after a hole found in its accounts led it to admit £92million of sales had been invented.
Hotel Co lodges big sale
BUDGET hotel Travelodge has toasted record sales and profits as more business travellers switch to cheaper overnight stays.
It plans to open another 300 UK hotels — including eight this year — after refinancing its debts last month to strengthen its balance sheet.
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Travelodge, which has 595 hotels and 12,000 employees, recorded sales of £910million last year — double its revenue from 2021 when Covid restrictions were still in place, and a quarter higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
The group’s earnings rose to £213million on the back of charging guests more.
The amount of UK revenue per room rose by almost a quarter to £52.59.
Its results show it expects that to increase.
Despite the cost-of-living crisis, accommodation revenue in the first five months of this year is already around 30 per cent higher than in 2022.
Mail is probed
OFCOM has launched an investigation into Royal Mail’s failure to meet delivery targets — and could fine the troubled postal service.
Rules state Royal Mail must deliver 93 per cent of first-class mail within one day.
But last week the company admitted that only 73 per cent was.
It also missed targets on second-class mail and daily delivery routes, blaming 18 days of strikes.
Its performance has been scrutinised by MPs after evidence it prioritised delivering company parcels over letters.
Wood bid no more
SHARES in Wood Group dropped by more than a third yesterday after private equity firm Apollo abandoned its months-long takeover pursuit.
US-based Apollo made five approaches for the British oil engineering firm before Wood Group’s board bowed and opened the door to talks.
The last offer was at 240p-a-share, valuing the firm at £1.66billion, but after weeks of due diligence, Apollo said it did “not intend to make an offer” ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.
Apollo was last week rebuffed from buying THG.
The ecommerce firm’s founder Matt Moulding took to LinkedIn to call the bid “unacceptable”.
