Waitrose encourages workers to accept flexible working hours

Waitrose shop staff could lose their jobs if the supermarket chain does not allow them to work flexible hours. The supermarket wants to increase productivity and reduce costs.

John Lewis Partnership’s upmarket grocer has lost market share due to the rising cost of living. The company launched a consultation last month with its employees, which paved the way for contract changes under a project called Simpler Shops.

Tina Mitchell said that Waitrose’s retail director, Tina Mitchell, warned in a video for staff that certain employees, known as partners, may have to make “compromises and sacrifices”, and that streamlining the operations “may lead to some partners leaving the company”.

She added that unless we change the way we work in the future, the partnership may not exist as we would like it to. She said that Waitrose strives to have the “right amount of partners performing the right tasks at just the right time”, as shopping habits change. This includes having enough staff in the store during the busiest periods.

According to Kantar data, Waitrose’s share of the market dropped from 4.6 percent a year earlier to just 4.4 percent in the 12 week period ending August.

Waitrose stated: “We strive to offer the best possible service to all of our customers. . . To achieve this, we are asking our partners to change their work patterns and propose to stop night shifts in a few stores.

We won’t take this lightly, and we will support our partners in any changes.

Waitrose revealed that it was losing £400 per year on every full-time worker, and that a third were working “in the wrong places” when it announced its plans. The grocer wants to save £50m a year by changing its work schedules. This would translate into 4mn “productivity hours”.

Waitrose does not belong to a union. Other retailers, such as Asda or Wilko, have introduced flexible work arrangements in recent years. However, they also attracted union ire.

Asda workers were told that they had to work bank holidays and forgo paid vacations in order to receive wage increases. The law does not allow employers to change their contracts without the consent of their employees.

Waitrose’s productivity drive will contribute to a group savings target of £873mn in January 2026. The company has already achieved £308mn in cost savings over the last two years.

John Lewis Partnership owns also the eponymous chain of department stores. The group will announce its half-year results on Thursday, after a surge in inflation and a poor consumer mood last year pushed the company into generating a loss of £234mn. The group also cut its prized bonus only for the second time in history.

Since joining the group in 2020, Dame Sharon White has led a turnaround, but has also had to deal with a pandemic and Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, as well as surging inflation, as well as legacy problems such as Sir Charlie Mayfield’s overexpansion.

White had previously stated that she wanted John Lewis to make “sustainable profit” — and not maximum profit, which would be more in line with the values of the mutual.