Home » UK Employment news » Sainsbury’s will recruit 18,000 Christmas workers

Sainsbury’s will recruit 18,000 Christmas workers

By Nagasunder in UK Employment news, posted November 3, 2022

Sainsbury's has announced plans to hire 18,000 temporary workers.

This is to help the supermarket through the holiday season.

The company stated that it was hiring for 15,000 positions at Sainsbury's, as well as 3,000 for Argos, which it also owns.

Argos employs 2,000 people, with 1,000 working in its logistics division, which manages the company's warehouses.

Sainsbury's stated that new hires would be paid £10.25 per hour, with London-based employees earning £11.30.

Seasonal employees will also receive free food and a discount card.

On-contract positions include serving customers, stocking shelves, and packing and delivering online orders.

This will last between three and twelve weeks, until January 7, 2023.

Those who work in Sainsbury's warehouses ensure that products reach supermarkets across the country.

Angie Risley, Sainsbury's group HR director, said: "This investment in service will ensure customers can find whatever they need to celebrate this year easily and conveniently.

"Our new higher base rate [of pay], colleague discount and free food during shifts ensure colleagues will be well-rewarded for their hard work."

Tesco, a competitor of Sainsbury's, has also announced plans to hire 15,000 more employees for the holiday season.

While Boots is hiring 6,500 Christmas customer assistant positions, Morrisons is looking to hire 3,500 temporary workers.

All industries in the UK are currently experiencing record-high levels of job openings; according to recent data, the number of positions available surpassed one million in the three months leading up to August.

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Additionally, according to data from the Office for National Statistics, there were 83,000 open positions in the retail industry alone during that time.

The British Chamber of Commerce previously claimed Covid and Brexit had contributed to a decline in the labour supply and that the UK was currently experiencing an "acute hiring crisis."

Higher pay packages have been offered by employers to entice workers, which has contributed to business-wide cost increases and higher customer prices.

Source: BBC News

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