// Tesco store colleagues say they’ve missed out on bonus this Christmas for second year in a row
// However, staff received a box of Quality Street chocolates worth £5
Tesco shop staff have missed out on a bonus this Christmas for the second year in a row – but were handed a box of Quality Street chocolates.
The grocer paid its staff a 10% Christmas bonus in 2020 and in previous years has given out a shopping voucher.
However, this year staff received a plastic tub of chocolates worth £5, The Guardian reported.
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According to Tesco, the staff discount was doubled to 20% on certain days during the run-up to Christmas instead of offering vouchers or a cash bonus.
One worker complained that it was the second year in a row he had received only Quality Street, despite his store taking more than £10 million in December.
From July this year, Tesco pledged to invest £200 million in increasing its rate of pay for shopfloor staff to a minimum of £10.10. It upped the rate again in October to a minimum of £10.30, taking their total pay rise last year to 8%.
Bonuses were handed to shopfloor workers in April, May and June 2020 at the height of the pandemic in the UK when stores were very busy, and for December 2020 to “recognise their exceptional effort during the peak Christmas trading period”.
In June 2021, Tesco paid a 2% “recognition bonus” and paid another – worth 1.25% of pay – in May last year.
Tesco said: “We have never given a regular cash bonus at Christmas and it is wrong to suggest that we have replaced one with chocolates.
“To help colleagues with their Christmas shopping this year, we doubled our colleague discount to 20% in the run-up to Christmas – one of many benefits available to our colleagues, on top of the near 8% increase in base pay we invested over last year.”


8 Comments. Leave new
They got even that?! I work in Tesco metro, only thing we got was an Christmas card. And even that wasn’t from bosses, but from colleges. But what does it gives me those 20% off of shopping is Tesco if nearest large shop is in other city (by car 30min away) and I don’t own a car to go there?! In Tesco metro is limited items I can buy. For day to day there is, but larger shopping or to treat yourself you would do somewhere else, isn’t it? So money bonus would have been more appreciated.
Staff in my store didn’t even get a tub of sweets we didn’t get anything
Why do they expect a bonus. I never got a bonus from my job in the legal I dusty for ma y years. They are paid for doing their job and we all work hard. Don’t expect and you won’t be disappointed
Feel thankful you got that we don’t get a single thing for a Christmas bonus from our company, and we’re bin men on £9.90 an hour.
I work for Tesco and received a thank you and nothing more, people should stop expecting extras for doing the job they are paid to do
That is the reason people are turning away from Tesco’s, if you don’t appreciate your staff just close up shop – oh no you can’t, think of all the millions of £s you would lose out on in the run up to Christmas, you poor little millionaires. Eye of a needle!
I think teesco have looked after their staff well
“We have never given a regular cash bonus at Christmas” – making this article despicably misleading. It’s not instead of a bonus, it’s simply a gift.