Some Tesco staff have claimed they have missed out on getting a Christmas bonus for the second year in a row, but they didn’t exactly walk away empty handed.
Instead, they were given tubs of Quality Street.
The supermarket retailer is said to have given staff a 10% Christmas bonus in 2020 as an extra thank you for all their hard work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and in previous years has also been known to give out shopping vouchers – but in 2022, they were said to have just had to make do with some leftover festive chocolate.
The Guardian reports that Tesco staff received a plastic tub of Quality Street chocolates that were priced at £5 in store.
One worker complained to the paper that it was the second year in a row he had received only a tub of Quality Street and not a Christmas bonus, despite his particular store taking more than £10 million in December.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tesco staff say they were given tubs of Quality Street instead of a Christmas bonus / Credit: Tesco
Tesco has addressed the claims by revealing that its staff discount was doubled to 20% on certain days during the run-up to Christmas, instead of offering vouchers or a cash bonus this past year.
The retailer said in a statement that it “would be wrong to suggest” chocolate replaced bonuses.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We have never given a regular cash bonus at Christmas and it is wrong to suggest that we have replaced one with chocolates,” Tesco said.
“To help colleagues with their Christmas shopping this year, we doubled our colleague discount to 20% in the run-up to Christmas – one of many benefits available to our colleagues, on top of the near 8% increase in base pay we invested over last year.”
The tubs of festive sweets retail at £5 / Credit: Quality Street
Tesco also said bonuses were handed to shopfloor workers in April, May, and June 2020 when stores were very busy at the height of the pandemic, as well as in December 2020 to “recognise their exceptional effort during the peak Christmas trading period”.
ADVERTISEMENT
The retailer has also pledged to invest £200 million into increasing its rate of pay for shopfloor staff to a minimum of £10.10.
It upped the rate again in October to a minimum of £10.30, taking their total pay rise last year to 8%.
Featured Image – Quality Street
Trending
Home Bargains has announced a special two-day closure of all UK stores
Emily Sergeant
Home Bargains has, once again, announced it’ll be closing all its UK stores on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day this year.
And it’s to make sure staff get a ‘well deserved break’.
After what has been yet another busy year for the retail industry, many workers have been left feeling like they could do with a little extra time off, which is why Home Bargains is following on with what has become a now-annual tradition by shutting up shop on two bank holidays.
All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day & New Years Day.
Announcing the move in a post on social media, the discount retailer confirmed: “All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day and New Years Day. We would like to thank all our colleagues for how hard you have worked this past year, and want you to relax and enjoy the Christmas break with your loved ones.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the retailer has kept its doors shut on bank holidays.
Many shoppers will recall it has made the same decision to give hardworking staff a break every year since 2019.
Explaining a little more about the decision taken to close all its stores, Home Bargains said: “As a family-run business, we know the importance of being together at Christmas with those we care about most, now more than ever.
“This is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.”
Featured Image – Geograph
Trending
Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week
Emily Sergeant
Who says breakfast has to end at 11am?
In news that’s set to be music to the ears of breakfast lovers in Manchester, Greggs is giving them exactly what they want.
We all know that brunch is a ‘thing’ by now, so now it’s time for brinner to make a name for itself instead, as Greggs has teamed up with Heinz to bring its much-loved breakfast menu back for tea time, kicking off from 4pm onwards.
The move comes as a new survey has found that the majority of Mancs (69%) admit to enjoying eating breakfast food in the evening, saying it’s ‘convenient and comforting’ – even ranking breakfast as a ‘more important’ meal than tea, as well (38% vs 36%).
Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week / Credit: Greggs (Supplied)
Greggs says it has ‘lost count’ of the amount of customers that have tried to order breakfast items after the usual cut-off time, especially in Greater Manchester.
But luckily for those breakfast-loving Mancs, they can finally get their favourite breakfast and sauce pairing long after the morning rush is over next… but only at two Greggs branches, and only for a very limited time.
On Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October, the Heinz x Greggs Brinner collab will be available at Greggs St Mary’s Gate and Greggs Oxford Road, from 4-7pm only.
“We’ve lost count of the number of customers who have tried their luck ordering breakfast after 11am, so when Heinz came to us with the idea of making Brinner a reality, it felt like the perfect excuse to give the people what they want,” explained Zoe Harris, who is the Customer Director at Greggs.
“And let’s be honest, a Greggs Bacon Roll just wouldn’t be the same without a squeeze of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.”
Emily Sergeant -
10th January 2023 
