Workers at Marks & Spencer are celebrating…

Bosses at the retail giant decided to reward staff after achieving a better-than-expected sales increase during the last quarter of its financial year.

About 50,000 store staff have picked up a handout of between £200 and £500 in the first such payout since 2008, with the rest of the bonus pool going to managers and head office executives.

The bonus announcement came as M&S posted a 5.1 per cent increase in like-for-like UK sales for the 13 weeks to March 27.

General merchandise sales were up 9.1 per cent while food sales rose by 1.8 per cent, also on a like-for-like basis, although the figures were boosted by the inclusion of the first day of the Christmas sale in the quarter.

The company now expects pre-tax profits for the year to April 3 to reach around £680 million to £690 million.

Directors decided on the staff bonus after out-performing their plan for the year.

Executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose, pictured, said: “These are strong quarterly results by any measure. They demonstrate the appeal of the M&S brand to our 21 million weekly customers and its resilience in these difficult times.

“The continuing improvement in our performance is the result of the actions we have taken to invest in our stores, service, product and values. In clothing we have seen a substantial increase in market share and in food we have had six consecutive quarters of improving like-for-like performance.

“We have weathered the immediate impact of the recession but remain cautious about the outlook for 2010/11 given the current challenging environment.

“We hope that after the election there will be greater clarity on economic policy and how this will impact our customers individually.

“With this will come improving consumer confidence which is so important for our business and the economy as a whole.”

Sir Stuart was presenting his last set of figures before new chief executive Marc Bolland arrives from supermarket giant Morrisons next month, after being lured by a near-£15 million pay package.