Mothercare puts 500 jobs on the line as it reduces hours worked in stores

Mothercare, which is undergoing a turnaround after a period of declining sales and profits, wants to reduce the hours of customer service advisors who work for 24 hours or more every week.

Employees who do not accept the new terms could be made redundant, putting 500 jobs at risk, according to The Times. However, Mothercare expects to employ about 200 net new part-time sales assistants during peak trading hours in a bid to get the right level of staffing in place at the right times.

The leaked restructuring plans outline Mothercare’s ambition to modernize to attract customers, achieve cost efficiencies and “become profitable again”.

A Mothercare spokesman said: “Mothercare is valued by its customers for high levels of service, expertise and advice. As an important part of its continued commitment to service, and in response to customer feedback, Mothercare is looking to increase the proportion of colleagues serving customers at our busiest times.

“As well as creating new jobs, this step will lead to changes in working practices for a number of our UK store colleagues and we are consulting with those affected.”

The restructure follows Morrisons’. On Tuesday the grocer revealed it is to make 2,600 redundancies to its management team as it aims to simplify its store structure.

A Mothercare spokeswoman added that the maternity specialist did not intend to introduce zero-hour contracts.

Mothercare is being led by interim chief executive Mark Newton-Jones after Simon Calver exited the business in February.

It is the second round of major restructuring for Mothercare, which in May 2013 made a round of job cuts at head office.