Morrisons orders head office staff back to full five-day week

Morrisons has told its head office staff in Bradford they must work five days a week in the office, reversing its previous flexible working policy.

According to the Telegraph, the change, effective this month, comes as the supermarket pushes to improve customer service and better support stores amid fierce competition.

Previously, Morrisons allowed head office employees to work 37.5 hours over four and a half days.

The new full five-day week aims to help the retailer respond to rising market pressures from rivals including Aldi, Tesco and Asda, which are all engaged in aggressive price-cutting.

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Chief executive Rami Baitiéh, who took charge in late 2023, said recent sales growth of 4.2% to £3.9bn in the 13 weeks to April 27 showed the business was “bouncing back strongly” after cyber disruption last year.

Yet Kantar data shows Morrisons’ market share dipped to 8.4% in May, down from 8.6% a year earlier.

A Morrisons spokesperson said: “In the context of an intensely competitive UK grocery market and increased cost pressures, we have taken the difficult decision to ask our head office colleagues to move from a 4.5-day to a full five-day working week. This will help improve customer service and ensure shelves are better stocked.”

The move follows similar policy changes at other retailers. Last week, Primark confirmed it will require product teams to be in the office four days a week from September.

Meanwhile, John Lewis has mandated commercial teams spend at least three days a week in the office, stores, or meeting suppliers, as part of efforts to boost collaboration and team development.

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