Sainsbury’s is investigating flexible working as it looks to ‘evolve’ its current ways of working and is testing “new ways to be more efficient and offer improved flexibility”.
Although Sainsbury’s has denied reports of trialling a four-day week or condensed working, the UK’s second-largest supermarket has said it has been looking for some time at ways it can improve flexibility and work more efficiently in order to continue to be a “great place to work”.
Describing itself as a 24/7 retail business, the grocer also goes on to say that as most of its colleagues work in retail, it won’t be taking a one-size-fits-all approach.
“We are always looking to evolve our ways of working to ensure we can do the best possible job for customers while continuing to be a brilliant place to work for our colleagues,” said a spokesperson.
“We are currently testing new ways to be more efficient and offer improved flexibility.”
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The original report, which ran in The Times, said a three-month trial was being run which would allow head-office employees and store managers to work their 37.5 hour contracts across a seven-day week – meaning they could effectively swap mid-week working days for a Saturday shift, or work longer hours on a weekday.
The supermarket giant kicked off the New Year by boosting hourly pay for shop workers to £11 per hour across the UK. As a result, Sainsbury’s and Argos hourly retail colleague pay increased from £10.25 to £11 per hour and from £11.30 to £11.95 per hour in London – marking the fourth increase over the last year.
“We are committed to supporting colleagues when they need it most,” Sainsbury’s spokesperson continued.
“That’s why we have recently invested £185 million to give retail hourly-paid colleagues a pay rise to help them manage increasing bills. This is the second pay rise we have given retail colleagues this financial year, taking Sainsbury’s total investment in colleague pay to £205 million.”
