Asda is seeking 500 workers for its depots and 1,500 people for home delivery over the festive period.The supermarket noted that most of the temporary jobs would be based at its stores.
Recent figures showed that job vacancies in the UK rose above one million in the three months to August. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that there were 83,000 vacancies in the retail sector alone during that period.
Companies such as Amazon, the online retail giant, are offering one-off bonuses of up to £3,000 to attract staff for Christmas. It is searching for 20,000 workers across its UK network. They also began a huge recruitment drive for a new project in September.
Domino’s Pizza also recently announced it was looking to hire 8,000 drivers in the UK and Ireland.
A spokesman for Asda said the supermarket was confident it would find people to take the temporary jobs. He said the 15,000 figure “is comparable with the figure we have recruited in prior years”. He added that Asda expected students to apply for the roles as well as people with children because many of the jobs offer flexible hours.
Last month, the British Chambers of Commerce said that Brexit and Covid had driven a deep-seated decline in the supply of labour, adding that the UK was facing an “acute hiring crisis”.
In the run up to the Christmas season, it seems here has been more and more brands and companies offering joining bonuses as well as offering large amounts of varying positions. Asda’s announcement to hire 15,000 is a great contribution and should help to give jobs to people who have been laid off or otherwise suffered due to the recent pandemic.
