Overview
- Tesco has opened applications for more than 28,000 seasonal roles across the UK and has published pay bands that start at £13.28 an hour with higher rates inside the M25 and a £2.35 hourly premium for night shifts.
- Sainsbury’s and Argos are offering about 17,500 fixed-term positions that typically last four to 12 weeks and include perks such as free food during shifts and a colleague discount that rises to 15% on some days.
- Marks & Spencer and other chains are also taking on thousands of temporary staff for shop floors, delivery and fulfilment sites, with recruits expected to receive on-the-job training for fast onboarding.
- Retail roles cover frontline customer service, online order picking, warehouse and distribution tasks, and some employers say a portion of seasonal posts could convert to permanent jobs if vacancies exist after Christmas.
- The sector-wide push for short-term workers is likely to shape the seasonal labour market this year by raising pay and non-wage incentives and by determining how retailers balance in-store and e-commerce capacity over the festive period.