Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CASH IN AT CHRISTMAS
THE festive season is on its way and after last year’s, with everyone forced to rein it in, this year’s Christmas promises to be a big one.
In order to make that work employers, large and small, are busy hunting for tens of thousands of extra workers to help them cope with the seasonal rush.
We have found 105,300 jobs up for grabs in a range of areas from supermarkets to logistics, with thousands more still to come as Christmas gets closer.
It pays to snap one up if you need a job. Not only will it help you make ends meet to splurge at Christmas, but if you’re out of work or looking to change careers, a festive job provides a big boost for your CV and can help you get a foot in the door.
“Christmas roles at Boots are perfect for people interested in exploring roles in the retail industry and to gain valuable work experience at the same time,” says Donna Hodgins, Head of Recruitment at Boots who are looking for 5,500 extra staff.
“A Christmas role can lead to a permanent position with us, so it could be the start of a new and exciting career path. Over the years we have seen many team members who have started out in Christmas roles go on to have very long and successful careers at Boots.” Check out boots.jobs.
John Lewis, including the supermarket Waitrose is hiring 7,300 seasonal staff. This includes 2,300 roles at its 34 John Lewis stores, including sales and merchandise positions, while the 300-plus Waitrose stores need 5,000 temp staff, including assistants, night-shift workers and customer delivery driver roles. See
jlpjobs.com.
It pays to pop into smaller shops on the high street too, to see what they have available. The Original Factory Shop, for instance, is looking for 50 extra people to boost staff at its 130 stores.
“Retail is so fast-paced at Christmas so we’re looking for quick learners who can use their initiative,” says TOFS’S Charlie Cuthbert. Check out tofscareers.com.
It’s no surprise supermarkets are looking for tens of thousand of people to boost ranks.
“Customers have told us that they want to make up for last year’s low-key festive season and so we are working hard to make sure that our shelves are stocked with everything they need to help them celebrate,” says Clare Grainger from Morrisons.
They need 3,000 Christmas staff for its distribution centres and manufacturing sites nationwide.
The starting salary is £10 per hour with permanent jobs available too. See morrisons. jobs.
Aldi needs 1,500 enthusiastic starters to help across their 200 stores, and as an added bonus, anyone working over Christmas itself will get Boxing Day off. Visit
aldirecruitment.co.uk.
Sainsbury’s and Argos need a whopping 22,000 people to keep on top of the whole season. This includes 14,500 in the shops, 500 managers, 3,000 online delivery roles and 4,500 people warehouse and logistics. New Sainsbury’s drivers will be offered a £500 incentive to work through the crazy days.
Tesco is taking on 15,000 temporary staff across stores around the UK. It also has 3,000 permanent warehouse distribution roles up for grabs and is offering a £500 bonus for those joining by October 30, dropping to £250 for those who join by November 27. See
It’s no surprise that logistics companies need all the help they can get.
Amazon has 20,000 vacancies at fulfilment centres, sort centres and delivery stations. Pay is £10 an hour and £11.10 in some locations. Visit
Around 20,000 people are also needed across the UK by Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide, primarily to help sort the additional Christmas volumes of parcels, cards and letters.
Positions are available from late October through until early January 2022.
Visit the dedicated website set up for people to apply for the Christmas temporary vacancies:
tesco-careers.com. jobs.amazon.co.uk.
Snapping up a festive role will give your CV a boost and get your foot in the door
jobs.royalmail group.com/go/christmasrecruitment/4479401.
There are also an additional 1,500 roles in Royal Mail Group’s express parcels business, Parcelforce Worldwide, 1,500 roles at its international parcel hub at Heathrow and 650 data inputting roles at three sites nationwide.
Yodel is recruiting more than 4,300 workers in 50 nationwide locations. They need couriers, parcel sorters and warehouse operatives across the UK. See yodelopportunities.co.uk.