// John Lewis Partnership to give staff 2% bonus

// The average worker would get around £360

// Profits for the group dropped 45% to £160m in the year to January 2019

John Lewis Partnership has said its staff will get a token bonus as new boss Sharon White unveils the group’s financial results.

The partnership is due to hand workers a bonus equivalent to two per cent of salary, down from three per cent last year.

This means the average worker would get around £360.

READ MORE:

The news comes after speculations that White – who took the helm at parent company of John Lewis and Waitrose last month – would scrap pay-outs for the group’s 83,900 staff.

However, a bonus of two per cent remains the lowest amount since 1953, when staff received no award.

Profits for the group collapsed by 45 per cent to £160 million in the year to January 2019, after a tough year of trading.

Earlier this year, the company warned that John Lewis’s annual profits will be significantly lower again, with Waitrose’s earnings expected to be broadly in line with a year ago.

However, John Lewis and Waitrose stopped releasing weekly sales figures earlier this year.

As part of its Future Partnership strategy – first announced in October – the parent company of Waitrose and John Lewis now operates as one business and will moved to a new financial reporting structure whereby the sales or operating profit would no longer be split between its two retail fascias.

Moreover, earlier this week, White was reportedly going to launch a strategic review amid reports that the retail giant is expected to post dismal full year results.

According to The Sunday Times, White is liaising with consultancy firms including McKinsey about their involvement in a strategic review.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter