John Lewis partnership cheers record bonus pool
John Lewis chairman Sir Stuart Hampson said there were “cheers all around” the today as 68,000 staff, from board directors to part-time supermarket check-out workers, discovered their share of a record bonus pool.
The £155m (€227.8m) payout highlights the unique structure of the department store chain and Waitrose owner, which is co-owned by workers on democratic principles laid down by John Spedan Lewis, the son of the original founder, in 1919.
He wanted a business able to make quick commercial decisions while representing the interests of workers, and giving them a share in the profits.
As well as the yearly partnership bonus, staff enjoy perks including store discounts of up to 25%, cheaper stays at four hotels around the UK and subsidised clubs and societies.
The partnership is also one of the few major firms left with a final salary pension scheme open to new members.
Partners elect five of the 14 members of the company’s partnership board and a “partners' counsellor” also sits on the board to make sure the group sticks to co-ownership principles.
Hampson said greater engagement of staff and the ability to make long-term decisions were the key elements of the partnership structure that gave it a competitive advantage over rivals.
He said: “When you come into one of our stores, you are not being served by an employee. You are being served by an owner of the business and customers do really notice the difference.
"Improvements to the business we have made are driven through by the partners.
“Also, there is the ability to take long-term decisions, the fact that we have said we are going to double our size and know we will not be subject to a takeover or a restructuring. We can take the long-term decisions without being driven by a need to deliver an increase in profits every year.”
He added that the company’s growth plans to expand to 100,000 staff by 2017 would mean that that the group would have to change the way it communicated with partners, but the co-ownership structure of the business would remain intact.
