M&S launches recruitment drive to fill 10,000 Christmas roles

Marks & Spencer has announced that is to recruit 10,000 new Customer Assistants to support in its stores over the Christmas period.

The number of vacancies is a more than 40% increase on last year and reflects the additional investment M&S is making in colleague hours to support customers on the shop floor.

A Customer Assistant at M&S is the face of the business and is responsible for delivering a great shopping experience for customers and championing and promoting products. From serving customers on the shop floor and at service points, ensuring shelves and rails are always stocked with product to engaging with customers to understand their needs and make recommendations; a Customer Assistant role is varied and wide-ranging.  

Christmas colleagues also play in integral role in delivering M&S’ Christmas Food to Order service, ensuring millions of customers get their all-important festival essentials and treats on time.

The new colleagues will join M&S from 19th November onwards, with a range of start dates, variety of roles and flexible working patterns available. Colleagues will also enjoy a range of benefits, including 20% colleague discount from the day they start working for M&S.

Sacha Berendji, who is Operations Director at M&S, said: “Our fantastic store colleagues play such a big part in delivering the magic of M&S at Christmas to all our customers. And this year we’re recruiting even more colleagues to ensure there’s always someone on hand to offer support and recommendations.

“The Christmas period is a busy but exciting time for M&S and no two days are the same, in fact, many colleagues who began their M&S careers at Christmas and have since gone onto progress across our business. With a range of roles and flexible working patterns available, anyone who's interested in being part of something special this Christmas should visit our careers website to apply.”

The Customer Service Assistant roles will span both Foods and Clothing & Home and are located all over the UK, with vacancies in every store.

To apply, you can visit https://jobs.marksandspencer.com/christmas where roles are now live and new vacancies being added all the time.

Huge festive recruitment drive launched by Tesco as it looks to fill 30,000 jobs

Even more opportunities for employment over the Christmas season as a huge festive recruitment drive has been launched by Tesco ahead of the busy holiday period this year.

And that should be good news for job-hunting students and families looking to offset increasing bills or anyone wanting to return to the workforce.

This year Tesco is recruiting 30,000 temporary Colleagues across the UK to help customers during the busy Christmas period.    

The jobs will mainly involve working in Tesco’s Superstores and Extra stores for either early morning, day or evening shifts, so that prospective applicants can find an opportunity that fits around them.

James Goodman, Tesco People Director said: “This is a great opportunity for anyone looking to boost their earnings over the festive period or who needs to find a route back into the workplace. 

“We’re looking for people who enjoy working as part of a team and are prepared to go that extra mile in order to help our customers.  

“Our festive roles are a fantastic way to become part of the Tesco team, with roles working on checkouts to picking orders for home delivery or replenishing the store. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to meet great people, learn new skills and be part of a diverse team where everyone is welcome. 

“We had a great response for festive roles last year and we would love to hear from anyone who worked with us then.  

“With part-time, temporary roles available across the UK, there are a variety of different shift patterns on offer, making sure these roles fit around different individual needs and lifestyles.”  

The new colleagues will help the supermarket meet high demand as customers look to make Christmas savings – especially as Tesco has just locked low prices on more than 1000 products until 2024 – as well as helping shoppers get exclusive deals on Clubcard Prices at the checkout.

Once the seasonal period comes to an end, there may be opportunities for Christmas colleagues to apply for any permanent roles available in Tesco stores.   

One person who did that last year is Kenzy Talbot, 28, who joined Tesco last November as a festive colleague and worked in the fresh food sales area.

Kenzy said: “I'm a working mum with a young child, as you can imagine trying to fit work around school times in the past was very difficult.

“Tesco has been amazing and with their flexibility this has meant that I have been able to fit my working hours around my family commitments.

“I was delighted to become a permanent member of the team in January 2023. I have progressed and learnt other areas of the store, currently working most of my hours on groceries along with picking up extra shifts on other areas such as checkouts and fresh areas.”

Anyone interested in a festive job at Tesco should apply to: www.tesco-careers.com/festive    

Morrisons launches search for 3,500 extra Christmas colleagues

Morrisons is looking for 3,500 extra colleagues to work in its stores, food manufacturing sites and logistics operations nationally to help meet increased demand over the busy Christmas period.

The wide range of roles available offer plenty of flexibility and with no prior experience necessary, there should be something for everyone. 

Morrisons is seeking applicants who are friendly and willing to help and all new colleagues will benefit from a 15% staff discount card as well as a 10% discount card for a friend or family member. 

As Morrisons gears up for the festive rush, it's seeking out people to join the business in temporary jobs ranging from customer assistants to home delivery drivers and production and warehouse operatives.  In previous years, many of the colleagues who joined in temporary roles have gone on to find permanent positions within Morrisons.

Clare Grainger, People Director at Morrisons, said: “Christmas is one of our busiest periods and we’re looking for an additional 3,500 people to join our talented teams.  These new colleagues will play a crucial role in creating and delivering the products our customers need to help make their celebrations special.  There are lots of great opportunities on offer across the UK with both temporary and permanent roles in our stores, manufacturing and logistics sites.”

To apply please visit: https://www.morrisons.jobs/christmas-at-morrisons

Incidentally, my parents both worked at Morisons in full time staff positions and were very happy working there.