Iconic toymaker Lego is the latest firm to announce that staff will receive additional time off over the festive period, following the challenging working circumstances posed by the coronavirus pandemic
The firm – which is the largest producer of children’s toys in the world – announced that, following a bumper year for revenues, its entire 20,000-strong global workforce will receive an extra three days of holiday and a special bonus as a reward which will be received by staff in April of 2022.
The company, which is still based in its home nation of Denmark, stated that repeated national lockdowns and expansions in production saw demand rise over the past 12 months, resulting in a profits increase of 140% on the same period in 2020.
Revenues in this time also shot up 46% to £1.9billion (23bn kronor) in the same period.
‘Thank all colleagues’
As a result of the success, and as a thank-you to its staff, the company confirmed in a statement that staff would receive the three extra days of holiday in the festive period.
“It has been an extraordinary year for the Lego Group and our colleagues have worked incredibly hard. The owner family wishes to thank all colleagues with an extra three days off at the end of 2021,” the Danish company said in a statement, as reported by The Guardian.
Speaking about the challenges that Lego’s people have overcome over the past year, CEO Niels B. Christiansen said: “We are especially grateful for our amazing team.
“Despite all the challenges and uncertainties of the past six months, they worked extraordinarily hard to bring play to more families around the world.”
Extra time off at Morrisons
While the announcement of these rewards at Lego will likely be welcome news to many, this isn’t the only firm rewarding staff with additional time off this Christmas.
Back in August, supermarket chain Morrisons confirmed that to reward staff for working hard in the pandemic, all of Morrisons’ 110,000 workers would be able to take Boxing Day off.
A report by the BBC explained that the chain, the fourth-largest in the UK, would close almost 500 shops on the typically-busy festive buying day as a ‘thank you’ for their hard work in keeping essential services running during the pandemic.
A Spokesperson from Morrisons told the BBC at the time: "Everyone at Morrisons has worked incredibly hard over the last 18 months as we've responded to the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic, serving our customers and local communities".
