John Lewis Partnership to offer free food to staff and Christmas temps
The John Lewis Partnership, which owns department stores of the same name and the Waitrose supermarket chain, will provide free food to staff and temporary workers to help them cope with the cost of living crisis.
The employee-owned retailer announced the perk as part of a drive to recruit more than 10,000 temporary roles to meet increased demand in the run up to the busy Christmas period.
Permanent members of staff (known as partners) and temporary workers will receive free meals during working hours from 3 October to 6 January.
A spokesman for the John Lewis Partnership told the BBC someone working a four-hour shift could choose one meal – breakfast, lunch or dinner – depending on the time of day, while those working an eight-hour shift could choose two meals, he said.
Staff working in larger stores, head offices and distribution centres will receive their free meals in canteens. According to the Daily Mail, breakfasts include a selection of fruit, cereal or an English breakfast. Lunch and dinner options include soup, salads, vegan and vegetarian dishes, fish dishes, curries, pasta dishes as well as roast dinners on Sundays.
Those working in smaller convenience stores would receive a vending style offer, for example Waitrose salads or sandwiches, the spokesperson told the BBC, while long distance lorry drivers would pre-order packed lunches, he said.
Over the next few weeks, the retailer will recruit 4,000 seasonal roles across its 331 Waitrose shops, including supermarket assistants, night shift workers and customer delivery drivers, as well as 2,000 temporary roles for its 34 John Lewis stores, including sales and merchandising positions.
The John Lewis Partnership will recruit a further 4,000 roles in its supply chain, including warehouse workers and drivers to support the expected increase in online orders at johnlewis.com and waitrose.com.
Andrew Murphy, Chief Operations Officer at the John Lewis Partnership, said: “We pride ourselves on creating a happy workplace because it's our Partners who make the difference and it’s thanks to them that John Lewis and Waitrose are two of the UK’s best-loved brands. We are looking forward to welcoming people across the country to grow our team and ensure we deliver a great Christmas for our customers.”
In May, Sharon White, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, urged the government to intervene with a financial package of support to protect families from the cost of living crisis on the same scale as it did to help the UK deal with the Covid pandemic. Last month, she called on the government to encourage more older people back into work after an exodus of over 50s left their jobs during the pandemic.
Elsewhere on the high street, Iceland recently announced it was rolling out a scheme to offer customers interest-free loans to help them through the cost-of-living crisis. The move came just weeks after Richard Walker, managing director of the frozen-food chain, called on retailers to take action in alleviating the cost-of-living concerns.