NEXT Part Time Job Vacanciesx - GMB

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NEXT Part Time Job Vacancies 

Nearly 80% of retailer NEXT vacancies are 12 hours or under per week and 94% less than £144 per 

week threshold for employers to pay National Insurance Contributions. 

Minister who says“Tories are best placed to tackle low pay” should speak to Tory Peer Lord 

Wolfson to see how he is tackling low pay at NEXT where he is offering jobs people cannot 

live on says GMB. 

A new study by GMB, the union for retail staff, shows that 729 or nearly 80% of the 935 current job 

vacancies at NEXT in the UK and Ireland are for part time staff being offered 12 hours and under 

per week. Only 53 of the 935 total vacancies or 5.7% pay wages above the £144 per week threshold 

for employers to pay national insurance contributions. The majority of the jobs offer pay between 

£5.08 and £6.21 per hour. 55 of the jobs are for apprentices with no pay rates identified above the 

national minimum wage of £2.65 per hour. 

The publication of this study coincides with a speech by Matthew Hancock, MP for West Suffolk and 

Minister for Skills (BIS and DfE) on 27 th March about a Conservative approach to tackling low 

pay. See extract in notes to editors below. 

Set out in the table below are the results of the study by region in the UK and Ireland. Set out at the 

foot of this release on the GMB website on www.gmb.org.uk are 13 regional releases which details 

all the job vacancies in that region. See notes to editors for source of this data. 

GMB has staged four demonstrations at NEXT for a living wage of £8.55 per hour in London and of 

£7.45 per hour in the rest of the country. 

NEXT has recently reported gross profits of £1.12billion for the 12 months to Jan 2013. In the 

previous financial year Next made super profits of 17.5p per £ spent in the shops while average 

wages for staff are less than £9,571 per worker per year. In the same year 

Lord Wolfson, the Tory peer who is the chief executive of NEXT in the same year received 

remuneration of £1.49m (£697,000 salary, £753,000 performance related bonus, £36,000 benefits). 

He also has 1,638,010 ordinary shares of 10p each. So far, after 17 years of pensionable service, 

has accrued an annual pension of £288,000, a transfer value of accrued annual pension being 

£3,911,000. 

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Next plc vacancies 

Number of 12 hours and under over 12 hours various 

vacancies 

North East 33 27 4 2 

North West 126 110 10 6 

Yorkshire & The 92 64 24 4 

Humber 

East Midlands 68 53 15 0 

West Midlands 91 62 19 10 

Eastern 56 38 17 1 

London 56 45 10 1 

South East 130 98 22 10 

South West 87 73 9 5 

Wales 47 41 2 4 

Scotland 92 74 12 6 

Northern Ireland 31 23 5 3 

Republic of Ireland 26 21 3 2 

Total 935 729 152 54 

Mick Rix, GMB National Officer for the retail industry, said “GMB undertook this study after 

members employed by NEXT complained that no new contracts above 12 hours were to be 

issued to staff in future in their store. 

Members complain that their working hours have been reduced. Some had to accept hours 

that are incompatible with their family circumstances, such as single mothers being unable 

to drop their children off at school or collect them. Some have had their working hours 

reduced from 16 hours, making them ineligible for tax credits. 

Matthew Hancock, MP for West Suffolk and Minister for Skills (BIS and DfE) said in a speech 

today “Just as in the past I've argued that the centre-right needs to act on unjustified high 

pay, on ending the rewards for failure we saw at the top, so we must act on unjustified low 

pay at the other end of the spectrum. 

Not only are the centre right best placed to tackle low pay, but we need to shout it from the 

rooftops. And we would be wrong to be coy about it: Tories are best placed to tackle low 

pay”. 





Mr Hancock should have word with Tory Peer Lord Wolfson to see how he is tackling low pay 

at NEXT. He is offering jobs people cannot live on. 94% of the job vacancies at NEXT pay 

below the £144 per week threshold for employers to pay national insurance contributions. 

Mr Hancock will find that that NEXT is leading the race to the bottom in the retail industry. 

Much of the merchandise they sell in the shops is sourced from badly paid workers in less 

developed parts of world. Now they are offering jobs to those selling this merchandise in the 

UK and Ireland with so few hours and such low pay that nobody can live on the earnings. 

Retailers like NEXT and Amazon are anti-union employers. Consumers need to help these 

retail workers by insisting that profitable retailers offer a living wage of £8.55 per hour in 

London and of £7.45 per hour in the rest of the country and to offer enough hours per week 

to enable employees to earn enough to live on.” 

End 

Contact Paul Maloney 07801 343 839 or Kamaljeet Jandu 07956 237 178 or Mick Rix 07971 268 

343 or Michelle Gordon 07866 369 259 or GMB press office 07974 251 823 or 07921 289880 

Notes to editors: 

1 Source of data on NEXT vacancies: http://careers.next.co.uk/index.aspx?link=catwalk 

2 Extract from speech by Matthew Hancock, MP for West Suffolk and Minister for Skills (BIS and 

DfE) is giving this morning 27 th March at the Resolution Foundation, about a Conservative approach 

to tackling low pay 

“In discussing the economy, it's critical to remember that people, and people's living standards are 

the goal, not the means. It's a mistake economists make all the time: believe me; I used to be one. 

Just as in the past I've argued that the centre-right needs to act on unjustified high pay, on ending 

the rewards for failure we saw at the top, so we must act on unjustified low pay at the other end of 

the spectrum. 

Not only are the centre right best placed to tackle low pay, but we need to shout it from the rooftops. 

And we would be wrong to be coy about it: Tories are best placed to tackle low pay. 





TACKLING LOW PAY 

In some areas, the Government directly controls pay. By exempting the low paid from the pay 

freeze, and by progressive reforms to pensions, the low paid have been protected as much as 

possible. 

Outside the employment directly controlled by the Government there are three crucial drivers of pay: 

the minimum wage, tax, and productivity. We must use all three. 

First, the clearest rule governing low pay is the minimum wage. Some argue that the minimum wage 

is bad for the economy because it damages our competitiveness. We have relatively high pay 

compared to the rest of the world, and to compete we must keep our costs low. Now I'm 

passionately in favour of making Britain more competitive. 

But we want to be competitive so people can be better paid. What is competitiveness for, if it's not to 

make us more prosperous and free? The standard argument against the minimum wage is that a 

minimum wage would price people out of jobs. 

But work is a team effort. Working out how work is down to which member of the team is an 

imprecise art. Just as with high pay, the question of just rewards is important. 

Crucially, job creation in Britain is happening at a pace. 

In some areas there are skills shortages, alongside youth unemployment. Unless work pays, we will 

not get people out of benefits and into work. 

The minimum wage is crucial to doing that. It supports the supply side. Indeed welfare reform, to 

make work pay, is strengthened by a higher minimum wage. 

The bigger the pay rise when you go off benefits and into work, the more people we will get off 

benefits and into work. So I think we should not only support the minimum wage, but strengthen it. 

Because a strong minimum wage supports jobs by making work pay.” 

Nearly 80% of retailer NEXT vacancies are 12 hours or under per week and 94% less than £144 per 

week threshold for employers to pay National Insurance Contributions. 





Minister who says“Tories are best placed to tackle low pay” should speak to Tory Peer Lord 

Wolfson to see how he is tackling low pay at NEXT where he is offering jobs people cannot 

live on says GMB. 

A new study by GMB, the union for retail staff, shows that 729 or nearly 80% of the 935 current job 

vacancies at NEXT in the UK and Ireland are for part time staff being offered 12 hours and under 

per week. Only 53 of the 935 total vacancies or 5.7% pay wages above the £144 per week threshold 

for employers to pay national insurance contributions. The majority of the jobs offer pay between 

£5.08 and £6.21 per hour. 55 of the jobs are for apprentices with no pay rates identified above the 

national minimum wage of £2.65 per hour. 

The publication of this study coincides with a speech by Matthew Hancock, MP for West Suffolk and 

Minister for Skills (BIS and DfE) on 27 th March about a Conservative approach to tackling low 

pay. See extract in notes to editors below. 

Set out in the table below are the results of the study by region in the UK and Ireland. Set out at the 

foot of this release on the GMB website on www.gmb.org.uk are 13 regional releases which details 

all the job vacancies in that region. See notes to editors for source of this data. 

GMB has staged four demonstrations at NEXT for a living wage of £8.55 per hour in London and of 

£7.45 per hour in the rest of the country. 

NEXT has recently reported gross profits of £1.12billion for the 12 months to Jan 2013. In the 

previous financial year Next made super profits of 17.5p per £ spent in the shops while average 

wages for staff are less than £9,571 per worker per year. In the same year 

Lord Wolfson, the Tory peer who is the chief executive of NEXT in the same year received 

remuneration of £1.49m (£697,000 salary, £753,000 performance related bonus, £36,000 benefits). 

He also has 1,638,010 ordinary shares of 10p each. So far, after 17 years of pensionable service, 

has accrued an annual pension of £288,000, a transfer value of accrued annual pension being 

£3,911,000. 

Next plc vacancies 

Number of 12 hours and under over 12 hours various 

vacancies 

North East 33 27 4 2 

North West 126 110 10 6 





Yorkshire & The 

Humber 

92 

64 

24 

4 

East Midlands 68 53 15 0 

West Midlands 91 62 19 10 

Eastern 56 38 17 1 

London 56 45 10 1 

South East 130 98 22 10 

South West 87 73 9 5 

Wales 47 41 2 4 

Scotland 92 74 12 6 

Northern Ireland 31 23 5 3 

Republic of Ireland 26 21 3 2 

Total 935 729 152 54 

Mick Rix, GMB National Officer for the retail industry, said “GMB undertook this study after 

members employed by NEXT complained that no new contracts above 12 hours were to be 

issued to staff in future in their store. 

Members complain that their working hours have been reduced. Some had to accept hours 

that are incompatible with their family circumstances, such as single mothers being unable 

to drop their children off at school or collect them. Some have had their working hours 

reduced from 16 hours, making them ineligible for tax credits. 

Matthew Hancock, MP for West Suffolk and Minister for Skills (BIS and DfE) said in a speech 

today “Just as in the past I've argued that the centre-right needs to act on unjustified high 

pay, on ending the rewards for failure we saw at the top, so we must act on unjustified low 

pay at the other end of the spectrum. 

Not only are the centre right best placed to tackle low pay, but we need to shout it from the 

rooftops. And we would be wrong to be coy about it: Tories are best placed to tackle low 

pay”. 

Mr Hancock should have word with Tory Peer Lord Wolfson to see how he is tackling low pay 

at NEXT. He is offering jobs people cannot live on. 94% of the job vacancies at NEXT pay 

below the £144 per week threshold for employers to pay national insurance contributions. 





Mr Hancock will find that that NEXT is leading the race to the bottom in the retail industry. 

Much of the merchandise they sell in the shops is sourced from badly paid workers in less 

developed parts of world. Now they are offering jobs to those selling this merchandise in the 

UK and Ireland with so few hours and such low pay that nobody can live on the earnings. 

Retailers like NEXT and Amazon are anti-union employers. Consumers need to help these 

retail workers by insisting that profitable retailers offer a living wage of £8.55 per hour in 

London and of £7.45 per hour in the rest of the country and to offer enough hours per week 

to enable employees to earn enough to live on.” 

End 

Contact Paul Maloney 07801 343 839 or Kamaljeet Jandu 07956 237 178 or Mick Rix 07971 268 

343 or Michelle Gordon 07866 369 259 or GMB press office 07974 251 823 or 07921 289880 

Notes to editors: 

1 Source of data on NEXT vacancies: http://careers.next.co.uk/index.aspx?link=catwalk 

2 Extract from speech by Matthew Hancock, MP for West Suffolk and Minister for Skills (BIS and 

DfE) is giving this morning 27 th March at the Resolution Foundation, about a Conservative approach 

to tackling low pay 

“In discussing the economy, it's critical to remember that people, and people's living standards are 

the goal, not the means. It's a mistake economists make all the time: believe me; I used to be one. 

Just as in the past I've argued that the centre-right needs to act on unjustified high pay, on ending 

the rewards for failure we saw at the top, so we must act on unjustified low pay at the other end of 

the spectrum. 

Not only are the centre right best placed to tackle low pay, but we need to shout it from the rooftops. 

And we would be wrong to be coy about it: Tories are best placed to tackle low pay. 

TACKLING LOW PAY 

In some areas, the Government directly controls pay. By exempting the low paid from the pay 

freeze, and by progressive reforms to pensions, the low paid have been protected as much as 




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possible. 

Outside the employment directly controlled by the Government there are three crucial drivers of pay: 

the minimum wage, tax, and productivity. We must use all three. 

First, the clearest rule governing low pay is the minimum wage. Some argue that the minimum wage 

is bad for the economy because it damages our competitiveness. We have relatively high pay 

compared to the rest of the world, and to compete we must keep our costs low. Now I'm 

passionately in favour of making Britain more competitive. 

But we want to be competitive so people can be better paid. What is competitiveness for, if it's not to 

make us more prosperous and free? The standard argument against the minimum wage is that a 

minimum wage would price people out of jobs. 

But work is a team effort. Working out how work is down to which member of the team is an 

imprecise art. Just as with high pay, the question of just rewards is important. 

Crucially, job creation in Britain is happening at a pace. 

In some areas there are skills shortages, alongside youth unemployment. Unless work pays, we will 

not get people out of benefits and into work. 

The minimum wage is crucial to doing that. It supports the supply side. Indeed welfare reform, to 

make work pay, is strengthened by a higher minimum wage. 

The bigger the pay rise when you go off benefits and into work, the more people we will get off 

benefits and into work. So I think we should not only support the minimum wage, but strengthen it. 

Because a strong minimum wage supports jobs by making work pay.”

NEXT Part Time Job Vacanciesx - GMB

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