M&S has declined to comment on claims staff are having to check chillers frequently over fears defrost alarms have been compromised by the cyber attack crippling the retailer.
M&S donations of surplus food from stores to charities have also been disrupted by the retailer taking systems offline to battle the cyber attack which began last Monday.
Store workers have been offered free food at closing time instead, with the M&S system that assigns surplus stock to charities among those impacted.
Sharing war stories of the cyber assault in online forums, some of the retailer’s staff claimed depot computer systems had “gone down too”, impacting the volume of deliveries to stores. Best-selling lines are said to have been prioritised for distribution.
“It’s getting worse every day with no end in sight,” one M&S worker posted.
Another said: “It’s easier to list the things that work than the things that don’t.”
M&S said it could not comment on which systems were on or offline. It confirmed there had been disruption to donations as it took some systems down, but said it continued to support charities with surplus food.
Sky News this morning reported that M&S had ordered 200 agency workers at its Castle Donington clothing and homewares logistics centre in the East Midlands to stay at home as a result of the crisis.
‘Cyber incident’
M&S has been grappling to get the “cyber incident” – thought to be a ransomware attack – under control for week.
It first alerted customers last Tuesday and was unable to take contactless payments in stores until Thursday, when it halted online click & collect orders.
Sparks loyalty rewards have also been impacted, with customers unable to claim them by scanning the app at checkouts. It has left staff having to resort to back-ups, including writing details down with pen and paper, to honour loyalty rewards including free items.
The loyalty scheme has more than 18 million members.
Protective action
The retailer has also been forced to lock remote-working staff out of some of its IT systems to contain the ongoing fallout, The Times reported on Saturday.
M&S’s latest update on Friday said: “As part of our proactive management of a cyber incident, we have made the decision to pause taking orders via our M&S.com websites and apps. Our product range remains available to browse online. We are truly sorry for this inconvenience. Our stores are open to welcome customers.
“We informed customers on Tuesday that there was no need for them to take any action. That remains the case, and if the situation changes we will let them know.
“Our experienced team – supported by leading cyber experts – is working extremely hard to restart online and app shopping.
“We are incredibly grateful to our customers, colleagues and partners for their understanding and support.”
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