With the majority of retail stores reopened to the public as lockdown restrictions ease in the UK and employers allowed to tell staff to come back to the office, Retail Week finds out what retailers’ plans are for returning colleagues to HQ

Amazon London HQ 4

Amazon

Amazon has said its “buildings are open to those who wish to work from an office” with social distancing, deep cleaning and temperature checks in place for safety, with facemasks and hand sanitiser available too.

Employees who are able to effectively work from home are permitted to do so until at least January 8, 2021.

DFS Team GB sofa range

DFS

DFS has reopened its group support centre for any staff members who choose to or need to work there. 

The furniture retailer says safe working capacity is around 30% but it is yet to reach this capacity and it fully supports colleagues continuing to work from home.

“We’re still working to finalise our long-term approach. We’ll continue to put the health and wellbeing of our colleagues first and adhere to all social distancing guidelines in our decision making,” a spokesperson said.

Greggs boss Roger Whiteside

Greggs

Greggs chief executive Roger Whiteside said the bakery chain could have no more than a third of its workforce back in head office due to social distancing.

“I still think office working is here to stay,” he said. “I’ve got no worries about productivity falling [as a result of working from home] but I’d worry that in time creativity would suffer.”

Whiteside also said he plans to scale back plans to expand Greggs’ offices as he predicts flexible working will become the norm.

Harrods has launched a floral takeover of its store to celebrate the arrival of summer

Harrods

Harrods said employees who are able to work from home will continue to do so, but it did not say whether its offices had reopened or not.

The luxury department store said: “We will continue to review this in line with guidance.”

IKEA

Ikea

Ikea’s head office remains closed with all these colleagues still working from home.

An Ikea spokesperson said: “We have a dedicated team working on plans for the safe and comfortable reopening of our office. We look forward to reopening in due course and in close consultation with our co-workers.”

John Lewis Oxford Street

John Lewis

John Lewis has been slowly reopening its offices over the last few weeks, taking a phased approach to bringing colleagues back in.

The retailer said: “We are reviewing safety measures on an ongoing basis before building up [staff] numbers. At this stage, we don’t plan to change this guidance.”

B&Q social distancing

Kingfisher

Kingfisher has confirmed its offices have reopened but the majority of its colleagues continue to work from home.

The home and DIY giant is planning a gradual return in the autumn “based on a flexible approach” – the exact plan is yet to be finalised as the group will be holding conversations with its staff members in due course.

Marks & Spencer sign

Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer’s Waterside support centre has remained open throughout lockdown with social distancing and hygiene measures in place, but the essential retailer said the majority of its colleagues have been working from home.

From September, M&S has prepared for a staged return the office, meaning colleagues will be split across home, office and store-based working. 

The retailer also said it is trialling an app to help manage capacity at its office.

Pets At Home

Pets at Home

Pets at Home has reopened both its retail and vet group support offices with a limited capacity to ensure social distancing is maintained.

“Capacity is at around 10% at the moment in both buildings,” a spokesperson said.

“This was the number that we felt comfortable with and we’ve put a lot of work into reconfiguring the space so that we can keep colleagues safe. For returning colleagues, we’ve asked them to watch a training video before they arrive so they understand the new safety measures that we’ve put in place.” 

“We’ll continue to operate the spaces in line with the latest guidance on social distancing and won’t go over that level of capacity. 

“We’ve been really cognisant of the fact that whilst the majority of colleagues have adapted to working from home incredibly well, and many were scheduling their working week in a blended way already with part home, part office working, it was important for us to recognise that doing their job from home doesn’t suit everyone. 

“We surveyed all colleagues and prioritised space for those that had a particular wish to get back to the office.”

Primark HQ

Primark

As its stores began reopening, Primark also reopened its Dublin and Reading offices for a “small number” of employees to return to work on “business-critical tasks”.

“With all of our stores across all of our markets now open, we have reached 30% capacity in both offices, on a rotational basis, while the majority of colleagues continue to work remotely.

“Nothing is more important to us than the health and wellbeing of our people and we have put in place rigorous health and safety measures in our offices, in line with the advice from government and public health authorities. 

“We will continuously monitor our health and safety policies to ensure we are doing the best we can to help protect our people, as we all continue to adapt to the new normal.”

Safety measures implemented at the two offices include staggered arrivals, departures and lunchtimes; new seating guidelines and a workplace flow system through the building; and a designated Covid-19 response manager on-site at all times.

The exterior of the new-look 'micro' Sainsbury's Local store in Holborn.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s has made its office spaces “available to book for those who need it”.

However, the grocer said most of its office-based colleagues are continuing to work from home in line with government guidance. 

Tesco Heart 1

Tesco

Tesco had around 6,000 colleagues at its Welwyn Garden City office and almost all of them began working from home when lockdown started. 

As the beginning of lockdown saw increased demand for the grocery retailer, many office members volunteered for shifts in-store to help support the business.

Tesco said those staff members who need access to the head office to fulfil their roles have now returned for a few days per week with “extensive safety measures” in place.

Skyways House Shopdirect

The Very Group

Up to 20% of The Very Group’s office colleagues have returned to HQ, with social distancing and enhanced cleaning practices in place.

The ecommerce retailer said that those who have returned are those “who can undertake their roles much more effectively” from the office.

The rest of the Very team will continue to work remotely until September “at the earliest” with plans for a gradual return over a number of months including a mix of remote and office-based working.

Wilko store front

Wilko

Wilko has begun welcoming employees back to its reopened offices but does not expect to have more than 10% capacity for the foreseeable future.

A spokesperson said: “Our support centre team members have risen to the challenge of home working during the lockdown and we thank them for making space for us in their busy homes alongside their families, pets and pot plants.  

“We’ve embraced a more flexible culture and used this time as an opportunity to develop different (and often better) ways of working. 

“Now that the government guidelines allow, we’ve invested in health and safety at our support centre to make sure it’s safe for those returning, including social distancing signage, one-way systems, hand sanitizing stations and reminders to hand wash regularly. 

“More team members are starting to choose to come back to the office, which we’re monitoring closely alongside government advice. 

“We’ve currently set a capacity of 10% for team members for the foreseeable future, welcoming those who prefer to work away from home and distractions and team members who need access to essential facilities, for example, our product and packaging photographers using our in-house creative studio.”