Ocado has become the latest retailer to call on its staff to work from the office more often.
The online specialist has told its head office staff they will need to work from the office three days a week. Previously they were only required to work from the office once a week.
Ocado has confirmed it has made changes to its flexible working policy, following a report by Retail Week.
“We encourage collaborative working together in the office three days a week,” an Ocado spokeswoman said, in response to The Grocer’s request for comment.
It’s the latest retailer to shake up its working practices, dialling back on working-from-home rules introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, as it tries to gain an advantage in an increasingly competitive grocery sector.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Morrisons has reverted to a five-day week at its Bradford HQ, ditching a more flexible four-and-a-half-day week working pattern as it looks to get the supermarket “firing on all cylinders”. Morrisons staff are still able to split their time between home and the office.
It followed changes at John Lewis, which has told commercial teams they will need to work from either its HQ in Pimlico, another John Lewis site or a supplier at least three days a week. The shake-up would improve “collaboration” and help bed in around 50 new recruits as the retailer kicked on with its turnaround plan, it said.
The changes do not apply to Waitrose staff.
In February 2024, Asda ordered staff to return to the office three days a week. Meanwhile, Boots now requires staff to work from its Nottingham HQ five days a week.
Ocado maintained its top spot as the UK’s fastest-growing grocer over the past 12 weeks in NIQ’s latest market snapshot. Sales grew 15.6% in the 12 weeks to 25 June. It was also the fastest-growing according to Kantar figures published earlier this week, improving sales 12.2% in the 12 weeks to 15 June.
No comments yet