John Lewis and Waitrose staff latest to get coronavirus bonus

A John Lewis shop in Birmingham’s Grand Central Station after the retailer announced temporary closure of all of their stores in the latest blow to the UK high street amid the coronavirus pandemic (Jacob King/PA)

John Lewis has become the latest shop to reward its staff working through the coronavirus pandemic.

All frontline workers at the department store and Waitrose supermarkets will get an extra £25 for each week they work in 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.

Coronavirus — People observe social distancing while queuing at a Waitrose supermarket in Lichfield, the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on people to stay at home and avoid all non-essential contacts and travel in order to reduce the impact of the coronavirus pandemic (Morgan Harlow/PA)

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.

This means an extra £1,050 for full time 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.