AGM season is very important to us here at ShareAction. It provides us, investors, and engaged members of the public the opportunity to directly challenge company Boards where efforts to reduce harm to people and planet are too slow. Annual General Meetings (AGMs) are run by companies to bring together their shareholders, so we purchase shares in those that we want to influence to provide a legal route to their meetings.

The wage that companies pay their workers, the rights and benefits they provide, and how fairly these are distributed, all shape workers’ livelihoods, whilst also influencing the company’s financial success. Shareholders with an interest in not only the financial returns of their investments but also their long-term social and economic impact must take an active interest in workers’ rights across their portfolio.

Below, we explore how our Good Work team has been spending the 2025 AGM season - working towards better pay alongside investors, companies and amazing ShareAction supporters.

We’ll cover the three shareholder resolutions filed at top UK retailers, as well as other AGMs we attended this year as part of the campaign.

In partnership with The Shareholder Commons, we developed an ambitious strategy to tackle low pay in the retail sector. This involved filing shareholder resolutions at three key UK retailers - JD Sports, M&S, and Next - urging them to be transparent about key details of their approach to pay, including how pay is set, how many staff are paid below the real Living Wage, and a cost-benefit analysis of paying a real Living Wage to all directly employed and third-party contracted workers.

All three resolutions received remarkably high levels of support: 

• Next: 26.87% of investors voted for the resolution, with total votes against the wishes of company management, which includes vote abstentions, at 29.22%. 

• M&S: 30.7% of investors voted for the resolution, with total votes against the wishes of management at 31.6%. 

• JD Sports: 13.66% of investors voted for the resolution. However, if we exclude votes from the controlling shareholder Pentland Group (which owns 51% of the company), 34% of independent shareholders voted in support of the resolution, with total votes against management rising to 35.2% when taking into account abstentions. 

All three results showed really high levels of support, particularly when compared to other shareholder resolutions filed at UK companies. The results at M&S and Next both went above the UK Corporate Governance Code’s 20% threshold for a ‘significant vote’, triggering a legal obligation to consult shareholders and respond to the resolution within six months. 

These resolutions were made possible thanks to over 100 of our brilliant supporters who each bought or borrowed a single share to take part. We’re especially grateful to Brett, Mike, and Olarewaju, who attended the Next and JD Sports AGMs to explain why fair pay is good for workers and business. And to Peter, Michelle, and Jennifer, who contributed to a powerful question that was featured at the M&S AGM.

If you want to learn more about shareholder resolutions and how to get involved, you can read more and register your interest in future opportunities here.

Despite filing the shareholder resolutions at three companies only – Next, M&S and JD Sports – the issue of low pay is widespread within the entire retail sector.

For that reason, it was essential to continue going to AGMs and speaking directly to their Boards about tackling this issue in their workforces.

We have also been to the AGMs of Ocado, Greggs, Tesco, Kingfisher (owner of B&Q and ScrewFix) and Sainsbury’s - and we are looking forward to raising this important issue at the AGMs of B&M, Currys and Frasers in the coming months.

We’ve therefore ensured other retailers are aware of the significant interest in this issue among investors and everyday people, demonstrated by the shareholder resolutions, and that they want them to tackle low pay in their workforces through increased transparency about it. On top of this, we have facilitated other voices expressing concerns about the state of workers’ rights in retail. Our partners at the High Pay Centre have attended a selection of the aforementioned retailers’ AGMs and asked Boards to commit to greater workforce voice in decision-making. Additionally, we facilitated members of the Make Newcastle a Living Wage City Action Group to ask Greggs to commit to similar disclosures seen in the resolutions, and partners at IndustriALL Global Union attended the AGM of Next to ask about protections for workers in Cambodia.

What's to come?

Our Living Wage resolution campaign has helped put low pay on the agenda of some of the UK’s largest retailers and their shareholders. All three companies have signaled a willingness to improve their transparency and continue to talk to ShareAction and investors on addressing low pay in their workforces.

Looking ahead, we will go to the AGMs of B&M, Currys and Frasers to ensure we keep up the pressure on the sector. Beyond that, we will support investors to engage with M&S and Next, given their legal requirement to consult shareholders, and talk directly with them ourselves. Finally, we will keep building on the momentum we’ve created together to push for fair pay for all workers - wherever they work.