John Lewis bosses face calls to bring back bonuses

The John Lewis Partnership is facing calls to reinstate staff bonuses, having last paid out bonuses in FY22, as it looked to turnaround the business in recent years. 

According to The Financial Times, some workers have now shared an open letter and launched a petition through Organise calling on bosses to bring back bonuses after the three-year hiatus. 

The campaign has attracted more than 4,000 signatures, including current and former John Lewis and Waitrose employees, as well as members of the public.

The petition says: “We’re working harder than ever, with fewer staff and growing workloads, but getting less recognition. The bonus meant something more than just money. It was a sign that the company saw and appreciated us. We’re proud of where we work. We’re proud of the Partnership. But we can’t ignore what’s happening. We’re calling on the John Lewis Partnership to bring back the bonus.”

The John Lewis Partnership is owned by all of its 69,000 staff, but some employees claim that the current partnership model is being “eroded” due to the group’s decision to not pay a bonus despite returning to profitability.

Earlier this year, the John Lewis Partnership has confirmed its staff would not receive a bonus for the third year in a row, despite full-year profits tripling from £42m to £126m, with the group instead focusing on investment into employee pay. 

For the year ended 25 January 2025, overall sales rose by 3% year-on-year, from £12.4bn to £12.8bn, while customer numbers rose by 2%. 

While employees will once again miss out on their yearly bonus, the company said it is investing a further £114m into staff pay, building on the £116m increase in 2024, and up to £600m in business transformation. 

In its last full-year results, it said that “after careful consideration, we have prioritised this investment over sharing a bonus this year”.

In 2020, John Lewis axed its staff bonus for the first time since 1953, after reporting a half-year loss of £635m amid the pandemic. At the time, the group said it would expect to begin paying a bonus again once profits exceeded £150m.

While a staff bonus was reinstated in 2022, the group axed the payment for a second time in 2023 after full-year losses plummeted to £234m. Despite returning to profit last year, the group confirmed it would not pay out staff bonuses for the third time in four years.

A John Lewis Partnership spokesperson today told Retail Sector: “Our Partners understand that we’re focused on improving their base pay and investing in our business so we can best serve our customers. 

“Our bonus remains an important feature of our employee-ownership model and we’ve publicly stated that we are determined to pay one as soon as possible. We’re proud of our varied and unique benefits package and we want to do much more to recognise our brilliant Partners.”