The Unite union said ballots for strike action at five of Marshall’s sites opened this week and will close on 11 November.

Staff at sites in Halifax in West Yorkshire, Stockton-on-Tees in Cleveland, Sandy in Bedfordshire, St Ives in Cambridgeshire and Ramsbottom in Lancashire have rejected a pay offer of a one-off non-consolidated £700 payment for 2024.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members are well aware that Marshalls is a highly profitable company and will not accept its derisory pay offer. They have Unite’s full support in demanding a fair pay rise.”

Unite national officer Jason Poulter added: “Marshalls can well afford to put forward a fair pay deal for this year. Strike action can still be avoided but that requires Marshalls to table an offer our members can accept.”

A Marshalls spokesperson said: “We are aware that Unite is in the process of balloting their members after rejecting the 2024 pay offer. We have since made an updated two-year offer. We await the outcome of the ballot and continue to work with the union to find a satisfactory resolution.”