Will John Lewis pay staff an annual bonus for first time four years?

Workers at the John Lewis Partnership are set to find out whether they will receive their first annual bonus payment in four years next week.

The retail group, which runs the John Lewis department store chain and Waitrose supermarket business, will also reveal how it has been progressing with its transformation strategy in an update on Thursday March 12.

It will report its results for the year to January, which will include informing staff over its plans for any potential bonus.

It is still not clear whether the employee-owned business will pay an annual bonus to its staff, who the retail group call partners.

The payment of a bonus is decided by the company’s board.

JLP has not paid an annual bonus to workers since January 2022 amid a major turnaround strategy at the company.

Following the coronavirus pandemic, the group shut a number of John Lewis department stores and cut head office jobs in a bid to shore up its finances.

Last year, the company opted not to hand out a bonus again despite seeing annual profits triple.

JLP saw underlying profits rebound higher to £126 million for the year to January last year, from £42 million a year earlier.

Last summer, the company indicated in an internal update that staff could be in line for a bonus if it beats a £200 million profit target.

At its peak during the 1980s, the retailer paid an annual bonus worth as much as 24% of employee salaries.

After it was not paid out for a third consecutive year, a number of frustrated workers signed an open letter calling on bosses to bring the bonus back.

Last month, JLP said John Lewis and Waitrose partners would receive an inflation-busting 6.9% pay increase as part of a £108 million investment in its workforce.

On Thursday, the company will also shed more light on the progress of its major transformation under chair Jason Tarry.

The company’s strategy under the former Tesco UK boss has seen it pump more investment into its stores as JLP renewed its focus in its core retail business.

The firm is currently investing £800 million across its stores as part of a long-term investment.

It has refurbished 23 Waitrose stores over the past year, as well as five John Lewis shops.

It also launched the Topshop brand across all its 32 department stores last month as part of investment into its fashion offer.

Last month, Mr Tarry also pulled the plug on the partnership’s plans to build around 10,000 rental properties in order to focus further on retail.

It abandoned the build-to-rent ambitions launched under previous chairwoman Dame Sharon White in 2020, blaming higher costs and caution in the property market.