John Lewis to create thousands of Christmas jobs

The John Lewis Partnership is looking to fill thousands of seasonal jobs to meet increased demand around Christmas.

It plans to recruit more than 7,000 temporary workers across its UK John Lewis and Waitrose stores and fulfilment centres.

New joiners will be offered free food and drink to "help ensure we can attract the help we need", it said.

The chain is also looking to hire 550 permanent, full-time, driver and warehouse jobs.

The partnership is hiring people for its supermarkets, department stores and fulfilment centres, including delivery drivers for its online grocery division.

The employee-owned business said on Wednesday that the number of temporary roles on offer marked an increase of 2,000 on the previous year.

Nikki Humphrey, people director at the John Lewis Partnership, said: "We know that as the first Christmas after lockdown, customers will want to make it really special and we're throwing everything we can into helping them celebrate - our festive team will have a crucial role to play."