John Lewis may drop staff bonus for first time since 1953 as high street retail pain continues
If John Lewis' bonus does get the chop, it will be the first time in 66 years that it has hasn't been paid
AROUND 83,000 John Lewis and Waitrose staff may lose out on their annual bonus this year despite sales being up over the Christmas shopping period.
Sir Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership - which includes John Lewis and Waitrose - warned in the firm's Christmas trading statement today that the bonus may be axed.
He said: "The Board will need to consider carefully in March, following the usual process, whether payment of a bonus is prudent in the light of business and economic prospects at that time."
The warning comes after John Lewis addressed speculation about the cost of its 2018 Christmas ad, describing reports that it had paid Sir Elton £5million as "wildly inaccurate".
If the bonus does get the chop, it will be the first time in 66 years - since 1953 - that it has hasn't been paid.
Last year, bonuses for 84,000 John Lewis and Waitrose staff were cut for the fifth year in a row to 5 per cent - the lowest payout since 1954 when it was 4 per cent.
The bonus began in 1920 and was originally paid out in the form of stocks and shares in the company. In 1970 it was converted to the cash bonus staff get today.
Every member gets the same percentage, from shelf fillers to executives as the John Lewis group sees its staff as partners, rather than workers.
The news comes as the retailer said sales were up 1.4 per cent to £2,207million between November 18, 2018 and January 5, 2019 compared to the same period last year.
But the department store chain has cautioned that gross margins "remained under pressure in what was an intensely competitive pricing environment".
And said that it expects profits to be "substantially lower this year" due to slower sales growth, higher costs, and as a result of the firm's continued investment in IT.
Shops have suffered the worst Christmas since the financial crisis a decade ago, according to new figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG.
Retailers such as Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, B&M and car and cycling chain Halfords reported financial results today, and they all saw falling sales over the Christmas period apart from Tesco.
John Lewis has 51 John Lewis & Partners shops across the UK and 349 Waitrose branches. Use the and the tools to find your nearest branches.
More on John Lewis
John Lewis came under fire at Christmas after its Quality Street pic’n’mix ran out of shoppers' favourites.
Meanwhile, Elton John was the star of John Lewis' 2018 Christmas advert, although shoppers slammed it as being "awful".
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 78 24516. Don't forget to join the for the latest bargains and money-saving advice.