// Frasers Group to cut exec team salary from May

// Annual salaries will be cut to only £40,000

// Warehouse staff, including those on zero hours contracts, would get their full salaries for this month

Mike Ashley has informed the executive team of Frasers Group that they will have their annual salaries cut to only £40,000 after April.

The billionaire chief executive has pledged to pay staff for the next month, after informing them on Tuesday that it had guaranteed salaries for staff until the end of April.

Warehouse staff, including those on zero hours contracts, would get their full salaries for this month but Ashley couldn’t commit to paying them beyond that.

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The news comes after Ashley issued a public apology over his attempts to keep Sports Direct shops open despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Frasers Group was criticised for potentially risking workers’ health by reportedly disobeying Covid-19 safety standards inside its warehouses, and lashed out at temporary recruitment agencies that provide thousands of staff to its Derbyshire depot.

Last week, Ashley apologised for “ill-judged and poorly timed” emails to the government and poor communication with employees and the public.

Meanwhile, Ashley does not take a salary from Frasers Group but owns 62 per cent of the company.

He said that the senior management team had taken a voluntary pay cut to reduce their basic pay to a maximum of £40,000 a year.

Finance chief Chris Wootton had been due to take a basic salary of £150,000 this year.

He wrote the letter to the government about Sports Direct stores staying open and admitted that his questions had been “mistimed”.

Ashley said the pay cuts were a way of showing support towards securing the future of Frasers Group.

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