'More than money' | John Lewis 'determined' to bring back staff bonuses as 4,000 workers sign petition

The John Lewis Partnership says it is “determined” to reinstate employee bonuses “as soon as possible” after thousands of employees signed an open letter to the firm's Managing Director.

The owner of John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets is under increasing pressure from employees to pay out bonuses, which have been frozen since 2022, despite reporting significant profit growth.

The employee-owned retailer recently reported a 73% increase in pre-tax profits to £97 million, with underlying profits tripling to £126 million. Sales rose by 3% to £12.8 billion. 

Despite this financial turnaround, the company announced it would not distribute staff bonuses for the third consecutive year. Instead, it prioritized a £114 million investment in base pay, granting a 7.4% wage increase to its 69,000 employees, raising hourly wages to £12.40, and £13.85 in London.