John Lewis employees to be awarded bonus for first time in 4 years

John Lewis has announced the return of its bonus for staff, in a coup for bosses leading its turnaround.

This means staff at the employee-owned group will receive their first annual bonus in four years, even as bosses lamented higher taxes.

The owner of the department store chain and Waitrose supermarkets said its performance had improved so that it was now able to award a 2 per cent payment.

Jason Tarry, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said: ‘Despite a subdued market, a challenging lead into the crucial peak period and increased taxes, we took the decision to continue investing in the business, and have delivered cash and profit growth.;

‘I’m really grateful for the commitment and passion our partners bring and, alongside our continued investment in partner pay, we’re pleased to be in a position to award a 2 per cent partnership bonus. We remain on track to make further progress this year.’

The bonus will be paid towards the end of this month and equates to at least a week’s worth of pay, the firm said.

The partnership saw sales rise 5 per cent to £13.4bn for the year to 31 January 2026. It said refurbishments across 23 Waitrose shops and investments in John Lewis shops including new ‘beauty halls’ had helped to boost customer interest.

Together, chairman Jason Tarry and John Lewis managing director, Peter Ruis, have led a revival at the business through measures including bringing back its historic ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ motto.

It posted a £21m loss before tax, compared to a £97m profit last year, saying this was due to a £120m non-exceptional charge related to a technology modernisation scheme.

Sales at John Lewis rose 3 per cent to £4.9bn. The partnership said it has launched 200 ‘new and in-demand brands’, including a partnership with Topshop, to woo customers, as well as opening new cafes in shops. 

And sales at Waitrose rose 7 per cent to £8.5bn, with the group saying it was seeing 5 per cent more shoppers through the doors than two years ago.

The partnership admitted it was ‘cautious’ in its outlook for trading in the current financial year.

This comes as there are fresh fears over the impact of war in the Middle East on consumer sentiment in Britain amid pressure on future energy bills.

But John Lewis said it was ‘well positioned to navigate the challenging macroeconomic environment, with improved liquidity and low levels of external borrowings.’

It added: ‘This allows us to continue investing in our retail-first strategy, which will benefit our customers and unlock the headroom we see in all of our brands. We are confident in making further steps forward in the year ahead as we progress our multi-year transformation.’

But Robyn Duffy, consumer markets senior analyst at RSM UK, said: ‘As volatility returns, John Lewis needs to remain agile. If tensions in the Middle East persist, the impact could be felt across consumer confidence in the near term and inflation further down the line, potentially intensifying cost-of-living pressures.’