Sainsbury’s Christmas jobs: supermarket hiring 18,000 extra staff to help over festive period - how to apply

Sainsbury’s is recruiting for 18,000 seasonal jobs to support the retailer through the busy Christmas period.

The company said it is hiring 15,000 roles at Sainsbury’s, 2,000 at Argos and 1,000 in its logistics division.

The new workers will help across Sainsbury’s and Argos stores to keep shelves stocked, pick items and to pack and deliver online orders and the logistics staff will work at warehouses to support increased demand for products.

The festive period is expected to be particularly busy for the retail sector after two Christmases were disrupted by the pandemic.

Temporary staff will work until 7 January 2023 on fixed-term contracts of between three and 12 weeks.

Hired staff will see ‘leading colleague pay’ 

Sainsbury’s and Argos temporary Christmas store colleagues will receive hourly pay of £10.25 and £11.30 in London, which was increased earlier this year.

Angie Risley, group HR director at Sainsbury’s, said: “We are really excited to be able to welcome an additional 18,000 colleagues to our team to ensure we deliver the best possible service to our customers this Christmas.

“It is a special time of year but it’s also busy, and with more customers returning to do more of their shopping in-store, this investment in service will ensure customers can find whatever they need to celebrate this year easily and conveniently.

“We know how tough it is for households right now and as well as excellent value for customers we are committed to leading colleague pay.

“Our new higher base rate, colleague discount and free food during shifts ensures colleagues will be well-rewarded for their hard work.”

How to apply

The Sainsbury’s website has a list of roles and locations to hire staff for the Christmas period.

Roles include Online Assistant, Trading Assistants, and Argos Customer Advisors. Shifts cover a range of hours, with a nightshift premium of a further £2.45 available for anyone working between 12am-5am.

To cover hours earlier than 6am or later than 11, you must be at least 18 years of age.

To apply, you need to enter an email address, add in some contact details and answer some application questions and some demographic questions such as ethnicity before moving onto the next stage.