Breakfast briefing: Retail news on Pets at Home, Tesco and John Lewis

Pets at Home vows to pay national living wage regardless of age

Pets at Home has pledged to pay all its staff including several young retail workers the compulsory national living wage (NLW).

The pet supplies retailer said the introduction of the NLW would cost the chain an extra £2m-£3m a year.

The new minimum rates, set at £7.20 an hour to staff aged 25 and above, becomes effective in April 2016.

Tesco agrees £8m in settlement over accounting scandal in US

Tesco has agreed an all-cash settlement in a US shareholder lawsuit, which claims that accounting scandal that rocked the grocer inflated its share price.

The supermarket retailer is to pay $12m (£8m) to settle the charge.

Tesco was sued after it revealed it had overstated first-half profit by £250m because it incorrectly booked payments from suppliers.

John Lewis bans use of staff discounts on Black Friday website deals

John Lewis has barred all its employees from using their staff discounts on its website for Black Friday deals.

The move is believed to remove some of the strain on its website and also ensure the best deals go to customers.

The department store group introduced this measure to ‘deliver a good shopping experience’ to its customers in what is tipped to be the busiest shopping day of the year.

However, a John Lewis spokesman said they will still be able to use their discount on Black Friday items in its 46 shops.