Head office staff at the One Stop convenience chain are fighting for a better redundancy package after it emerged employees on contracts with parent company Tesco had better payoff offers.
Tesco previously announced a round of job cuts at One Stop, which is loosely operates, as part of wider a plan to slash £1.5 billion from retail giant’s cost base.
It has resulted in the departure of several One Stop senior management team members, including the franchise director Andrew King and retail director Mark Williams.
Tracey Clements, the managing director of Tesco‘s convenience division, also retains her role as chief executive of One Stop, which was by brought into the UK’s biggest grocer’s network in a £530 million deal in 2002.
While the biggest One Stop stores were converted into branches of Tesco Express, the remainder continued to be managed by staff based at One Stop’s Birmingham head office to keep costs to a minimum.
The overhaul in One Stop staff is rumoured to be underway to prepare Tesco for its merger with wholesaler and convenience store operator Booker.
One source told The Guardian that the redundancy programme had not been handled well and that it was not a “level playing field”.
READ MORE: Fresh job cuts at Tesco‘s F&F clothing arm
One Stop head office staff were expecting statutory redundancy pay but it emerged those working directly for Tesco were offered an additional payment based on length of service, which is reportedly worth thousands of pounds.
The Guardian said One Stop representatives were planning to meet Tesco managers today to discuss the redundancy terms, which are yet to be finalised.
“We‘re making a series of changes to our service model across Tesco to further simplify our business, including in our One Stop business,” a Tesco spokesperson said.
“While One Stop will continue to be run as a separate business, these changes will mean we are able to take further advantage of synergies and experience between the two businesses, simplify our operations and align our service models more closely.”
Tesco is currently undergoing a major cost-cutting programme in which more than 2300 people will leave the retailer in the coming months, including 1200 head office jobs 1100 Cardiff call centre jobs.
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