John Lewis to slim down staff committee to accelerate decisions

Telegraph

4 hours ago

John Lewis is preparing to radically slim down an influential staff committee in a bid to accelerate decision-making.
The retail giant will cut the size of its partnership council by a quarter from this autumn, meaning the number of staff sitting on the committee will fall from 57 to 43.
It forms part of an attempt to bolster turnaround efforts at John Lewis, as bosses scramble to improve productivity.
The partnership council is John Lewis's most senior staff committee and forms a crucial pillar of its democratic structure.
Staff elected to the council can steer how the partnership is run, including holding regular votes on strategy and having the ability to change its constitution.
They are also consulted on issues such as staff bonuses and have a small portion of the total budget to invest in wellbeing benefits. In extreme circumstances, they also have the power to dismiss the chairman.
John Lewis is understood to have told staff the planned shake-up has been driven by the fact that its current structure 'relies too heavily on hierarchy and escalation'.
Under the planned staff rethink, the partnership will also bring back local forums, which will allow staff across its Waitrose supermarkets and department stores to put forward their views.
The changes will come into force from October.
It comes as John Lewis kicks ahead with a turnaround push to return the business to 'sustainable' profits, after years of losing ground to rivals.
The partnership lost money for three years in a row before returning to profit in 2023.
In its most recent accounts for the year to the end of January, profits before tax and exceptional items jumped from £42m to £126m, while sales rose by 3pc to £12.8bn.
Jason Tarry, who replaced Dame Sharon White as chairman last year, said John Lewis needed to focus on 'considerable catch-up investment in our stores and supply chain'.
John Lewis said it reviewed its democratic model every three years when the council term concluded.
A spokesman said: 'This will see a stronger focus on local forums to raise local partner opinion alongside a tighter partnership council to support faster decision making.
'The updates have been made in close consultation with our partners – and the power of our council, and the vital role it plays in governing our business remains unchanged.'
Recently, the partnership has been facing mounting pressure to restore its staff bonus, which it axed to focus on improving stores and boosting pay rates.
Last year marked the third consecutive year that staff did not receive their partnership bonus, and only the fourth time since 1953.
In recent weeks, a petition on the campaign website Organise gained more than 4,000 signatures from workers past and present demanding the bonus be reinstated.
A spokesman for John Lewis said: 'Our partners understand that we're focused on improving their base pay and investing to create a sustainable business.
'Our bonus remains an important feature of our employee-owned model, and we confirmed in March that we're determined to reinstate it as quickly as possible. We're proud of our unique benefits package and we want to do even to recognise our brilliant partners.'