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The Christmas recruitment drive is on, with companies across the UK looking to fill an estimated quarter of a million temporary festive roles this season.
Royal Mail is set to hire 13,000 more temps than normal as analysts predict 2020 will be the first Christmas when more than half of shopping is online, up from 31 per cent last year. In total, it reckons some 33,000 extra drivers and sorters will be required to handle the logistical challenge.
Royal Mail is joined by the likes of Tesco, which is looking for 11,000 temporary staff, Sports Direct, which has 2,000 posts to fill, Amazon, which has 20,000 jobs on offer, and dozens of others. Even retailers such as Next and Debenhams, whose high street stores have been hit hard by lockdown restrictions, are seeking temporary Christmas support staff.
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Recruitment for these roles normally starts earlier in the year, but was no doubt delayed as businesses were unsure what might be in store this festive shopping season. However, these announcements suggest that at least some sectors will be bustling.
This will provide a valuable lifeline for many workers at a critical time, with the furlough scheme having now drawn to a close. Add to that the resurgence in infection rates – which has led to continuing “tier three” restrictions across much of Scotland, hampering many firms’ ability to trade – and the outlook for those still holding down permanent jobs in sectors such as retail and hospitality doesn’t look good.
Temporary festive roles usually require little to no experience, and will provide a provisional solution to the financial worries of those recently made redundant.
In the past, an estimated one in five Christmas temps have been offered a permanent job. It’s hard to imagine those figures will hold this time around, though some will no doubt find it a route back into steady employment.
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For the rest, however, festive jobs are merely a stopgap. Even with incentives on offer for retaining staff, most of these posts simply will not be required after the Christmas rush.
One potential spin-off of this could be lower-than-expected increases in official unemployment for the next two to three months, followed by a renewed surge in jobless claims early in the new year.
Yet again, the discussion must turn to finding sustainable employment for workers dispossessed by the pandemic. Training remains the key, but it will take a concerted effort between Government and industry to unlock this solution.
