John Lewis employees call for reinstatement of bonuses

Employees at John Lewis Partnership (JLP) are demanding the reinstatement of staff bonuses after the scheme was put to a halt three years ago.

The call is being made on workplace community platform Organise, where a petition has been launched directed at John Lewis’ managing director, Peter Ruis. The petition has garnered over 4,000 of its 10,000 targeted signatures as of publication.

In its text, an open letter from employees to Ruis reads: “We’re working harder than ever, with fewer staff and growing workloads, but getting less recognition. The bonus meant something more than just money. It was a sign that the company saw and appreciated us.

“We’re proud of where we work. We’re proud of the Partnership. But we can’t ignore what’s happening. We’re calling on the John Lewis Partnership to bring back the bonus.”

The call comes on the back of JLP reporting a 97 million pound profit in the beginning of 2025, a 73 percent increase on the year prior. Despite the significant growth, the retailer opted to continue its halt on staff bonuses and instead use the returns for investments and pay rises.

John Lewis had previously cited an internal target of 150 million pounds in annual profit in order to reintroduce staff bonuses. In the meantime, it has enacted a widespread turnaround plan largely focused on upgrading its store fleet. It returned to profit in 2024 after swinging into a loss during the pandemic.

In response to the petition, a spokesperson for JLP told FashionUnited: “Our Partners understand that we’re focused on improving their base pay and investing in our business so we can best serve our customers.

“Our bonus remains an important feature of our employee-ownership model and we've publicly stated that we are determined to pay one as soon as possible. We're proud of our varied and unique benefits package and we want to do much more to recognise our brilliant Partners.”

This article was updated with a quote from John Lewis on May 2, at 11:57am CEST.