STAFF at Amazon’s Scots warehouses can look forward to a major shakeup as new contracts give workers more flexbility.
After a successful trial at three sites, Amazon fulfilment centres are now rolling out term-time contracts, which means staff will be guaranteed time off during national holidays.
The new contracts will also be available at sort centres and delivery stations across the UK later this year.
The working arrangement will help fulfilment centre staff who are responsible for packaging items to get more time with their families.
Workers at Amazon’s Bathghate and Dunfermline warehouses will now get holidays during summer, Easter and the Christmas period.
The global online store also announced a new flexible part-time contract where employees can pick shift patterns that best suit them.
Workers can choose between half day or full day shifts, as well as deciding whether to work during the day or night, and at the weekend or on weekdays only.
The contract is for a minimum of 80 hours per month.
This new flexibility will allow mums to go back to work while still getting time with their kids.
It also means people with health problems who are only able to work for limited periods of time will be able to get a job.
The general manager of an Amazon centre in Dunfermline where the term-time contracts were trialled praised the new system.
Jamie Strain said: “We’ve listened to our employees’ views on flexible working and I’m really proud that we’ve introduced new and innovative options based on their feedback.
“Both of these contracts put a really important emphasis on work-life balance and I’m certain they’re going to make a positive difference for many of our people.”
John Boumphrey, Amazon UK’s Country Manager, added: “I’m delighted to announce these new flexible working initiatives that provide even more choice for current and future employees, enabling them to better manage their home and work commitments. We already provide a four-day working week for our fulfilment centre employees in the UK, and term-time contracts are another great example of how we are using feedback from our people to support them with their childcare needs, giving families more time together.
“Providing a flexible part-time contract where people can pick the shifts that best suit their needs will support our employees’ partners and other job-seekers with family caring commitments a route back to the workplace, helping to boost household income.”
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