John Lewis joins scheme to boost career progression for part time workers

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
May 16, 2017

John Lewis Partnership is one of five leading UK retailers who have signed up to a new pilot scheme which aims to give more part time workers the opportunity to access managerial roles.

The initiative is led by flexibility experts Timewise and has launched in partnership with B&Q, COOK, Dixons Carphone, Tesco and John Lewis Partnership. It is a bespoke job-design pilot scheme created to help retailers identify operational constraints on working flexibly or part time in managerial roles, and teach them how to redesign jobs to overcome them.

It comes as new data reveals that 5 million people currently work in retail roles that pay at or just above the national minimum wage, and the majority work part time. While flexible working hours are cited as one of the most important reasons when choosing to working within the retail industry, 56% of retail employees believe they are less likely to get promoted if they work part time.

“Flexibility in working hours is one of the most important reasons why people choose to work in retail. With a post-Brexit labour market in sight, jobs designed with their people in mind, is what will create a win-win situation for UK retailers – from being able to attract the best possible people, maximising the skills of their existing talent, ensuring career progression, and addressing challenges such as low productivity,” said Emma Stewart, Joint CEO of Timewise.

The pilot programme, supported by the British Retail Consortium, will run for 12 months.