282
of 500 signatures
To John Lewis Partnership
Waitrose & Partners kept their doors open on 1st January 2026, allowing Partners to volunteer to work throughout New Year’s Day.
After seeing the success of this initiative, leadership has decided to make it a contractual obligation, making it compulsory for all Partners. A traditional holiday, meant to be spent celebrating the New Year with friends, family and loved ones, has been turned into another opportunity for profit.
Once again, the Partnership has demonstrated that profit comes first, while the very people who make that profit possible come second and are left to bear the consequences.
This is not simply about having to work an extra day. It is about the Partnership’s disrespectful approach towards its Partners and the dangerous precedent this decision sets. If the financial returns are high enough, what is stopping the Partnership from making other traditional holidays, such as Boxing Day, compulsory working days in the future?
This must stop!
Partners deserve the right to celebrate traditional holidays with their families on the actual day of celebration, without having to worry about work, cut short their festivities to meet work demands, or cancel long-standing plans just to make it to work on time.
Our personal lives, family time and wellbeing deserve respect, too.
After seeing the success of this initiative, leadership has decided to make it a contractual obligation, making it compulsory for all Partners. A traditional holiday, meant to be spent celebrating the New Year with friends, family and loved ones, has been turned into another opportunity for profit.
Once again, the Partnership has demonstrated that profit comes first, while the very people who make that profit possible come second and are left to bear the consequences.
This is not simply about having to work an extra day. It is about the Partnership’s disrespectful approach towards its Partners and the dangerous precedent this decision sets. If the financial returns are high enough, what is stopping the Partnership from making other traditional holidays, such as Boxing Day, compulsory working days in the future?
This must stop!
Partners deserve the right to celebrate traditional holidays with their families on the actual day of celebration, without having to worry about work, cut short their festivities to meet work demands, or cancel long-standing plans just to make it to work on time.
Our personal lives, family time and wellbeing deserve respect, too.
Petition text
Restore 1st January as a store closure, as it was before, or at the very least make working on New Year’s Day voluntary. Respect Partners’ right to spend this traditional holiday with their families, friends and loved ones without the pressure or obligation to work.
Waitrose & Partners to make New Year's Day non-compulsory working day.
Next step - spread the word
Waitrose & Partners to make New Year's Day non-compulsory working day.
Waitrose & Partners to make New Year's Day non-compulsory working day.
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