John Lewis and Waitrose staff receive £22m holiday pay windfall

19 January 2015

Employee-owned retail group one of the first companies to detail the cost of the November tribunal ruling on holiday pay.

The Guardian has reported that John Lewis and Waitrose staff are set to share a £22m extra bonus this year after an employment tribunal forced a change in the way all British companies calculate holiday pay.

The windfall, in pay and pension contributions, comes 18 months after 69,000 workers shared £40m in holiday back pay after the employee-owned retail group admitted it had been miscalculating pay for seven years.

This time around, about 60,000 workers will share £3m in their February pay packets and John Lewis will take on £7m more in pension liabilities. Workers will then receive a further £12m in additional holiday pay over the year ahead. While the average worker can expect to enjoy an extra £62-£188 in their pay packet relating to holiday pay, the company admitted that workers’ annual profit-related bonus, usually announced in early March, might be lower as a result.