'Absolute disgrace' | Uproar as John Lewis axes bonuses - then gives select few employees cash

The John Lewis Partnership has reportedly incurred the wrath of staff after paying bonuses to just 4,000 of its 79,000 employees – around five per cent of its total workforce.

According to The Times, the retail giant which comprises John Lewis and Waitrose, made 4,000 “special contribution awards”, including to 16 managers, last year – at a time when the firm axed its annual staff bonuses for the first time since the 1950s as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

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An anonymous employee told The Times that the decision was an “absolute disgrace”, while another told the Financial Times, which first reported the news: “[John] Spedan Lewis would be rolling in his grave at the way partners are being treated.”

The Partnership was founded by Spedan Lewis, who introduced a profit-sharing scheme in 1920 with the principle that the company’s “ultimate purpose is the happiness of all its members, through their worthwhile and satisfying employment in a successful business”.