John Lewis Partnership has mandated that staff in its commercial teams spend more than half their week in the office or on-site.

The department store chain has informed members in its buying and merchandising departments that they must work either in the office, in stores or with brands and suppliers three days a week from the start of July.

John Lewis, which is in the midst of a turnaround, said the move was about improving collaboration across the business and “creating an environment where teams can learn and develop”.

The business moved to a hybrid working model at the end of the Covid-19 lockdowns, encouraging staff to schedule their office days as they deem necessary. It remains unchanged for the majority of partners.

A John Lewis spokesperson told Retail Gazette: “Flexible working is an important part of our offer; everyone in our business can request to work flexibly, and most central office Partners have hybrid working arrangements in place.

“A collaborative culture is critical to help create the best product ranges and store environment for customers, and we’re taking steps to encourage team members to spend time together in our offices and stores, or meeting brands and suppliers – and balancing this with working remotely.

“We’ve also recruited around 50 new team members to help spearhead our range development and store modernisation – and their training and development, together with embedding a collaborative culture, is vital to set us up for success.”

The retailer relocated its head office last year, downsizing from the 220,000sq ft space at Victoria to a new 108,000sq ft site in Pimlico.

John Lewis is not the only retailer to revise its hybrid working policy for some of its staff, with Primark informing staff in its product teams that they must be in the office four days a week from September.

The update, effective September 15, applies to the retailer’s employees based out of its Arthur Ryan House office in Dublin.

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