Huge Morrisons shake-up means four-day working week for 1,500 head office staff

The new contracts will affect staff at Hilmore House in Bradford and a small number of employees who work at its clothing brand Nutmeg’s office in Coalville, Leicestershire.

Under the plan, which comes into effect on July 27, the offices will become a six-day operation, including Saturdays. Staff will be phased back into the office from that date.

Speaking exclusively to The Yorkshire Post, Morrisons said the aim was to modernise its ways of working, make the business a more attractive place to work, and support its stores which are also open at the weekend.

Individuals will reduce their weekly hours from 40 to 37.5, working nine instead of eight hours a day over four days plus a six-hour shift one Saturday a month. Pay will not be affected.

The supermarket, which was working on the plan well before the Covid-19 pandemic, said the new way of working would ensure greater coverage across the working week, a continuation of social distancing and a better work-life balance for employees.

A spokesman said: “We’ve learned a lot during the Covid outbreak but this has been planned for some time. We trialled it last year with some colleagues so it was a planned decision.”

Employees in some jobs who have worked well from home during lockdown will continue homeworking.

Other roles, where business teams working together speeds up decision making and delivery, will continue to be office based.

Clare Grainger, Morrisons group people director, said: “These new improvements to our ways of working will enable us to be more flexible and responsive and will make Morrisons a place where more people will want to join and stay.

“We’ve shown over the last few months how we can continue to run our business while many colleagues work from home, enabled by much greater flexibility and digital working.

“These new ways of working will simplify and speed up our business and improve our competitiveness.”