John Lewis latest UK store to reward staff for pandemic work

John Lewis (JLH.L) has joined the growing ranks of UK shops to reward its staff for their work during the coronavirus pandemic.

Frontline workers at the department store and Waitrose supermarkets will get an extra £25 for each week they work during April and May.

The discount at Waitrose for all employees across both shops has also been increased from 15% to 25% and will remain at 20% after COVID-19 has peaked, the company say.

These new rewards follow a 2% bonus that was handed to all staff last month.

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John Lewis has closed its high-street shops, but is still operating online.

Sharon White, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership said staff "have made significant sacrifices to ensure that we are able to continue to serve and support our customers.

"The measures that we have announced today are in recognition of their hard work and commitment and are part of a wider package of support available to help partners during this extraordinary time."

Supermarkets dealt with record levels of demand in March, according to figures released earlier this week.

Grocery sales rose by 20.6% in the last four weeks, and 7.6% in the last 12 and one expert said shops have been even busier than at Christmas.

They are passing on profits to employees, with staff at Morrisons have been told to expect a £1,000 bonus as their earnings will be topped up by 6% over the next 12 months.

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This means an extra £1,050 for full time Morrisons (MRW.L) employees, including those who have been sick or are self-isolating, and new hires who have been taken on to deal with the extraordinary demand.

Ocado (OCDO.L) has said that staff will be given a 10% bonus on all hours they work from 23 March "while the crisis continues".

Aldi, Sainsbury's and Tesco have all echoed the 10% pledge and Asda has promised an extra week's pay in June.