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The John Lewis Partnership has paid bonuses to senior managers despite not paying its partnership bonus for the first time in nearly 70 years. According to press reports, 16 managers were among the recipients of 4,000 “special contribution awards” last year. The awards are capped at 10% of salary for exceptional service. The 16 senior managers – none of whom are members of its executive team – are said to have received an average award of £12,281, totalling £196,500. Although the award scheme was instigated a decade ago, last year was the first time the wider partnership bonus has not been paid since 1953. The Financial Times, which first reported the payment, has said that about a thousand comments about the bonuses have been posted on the group’s intranet from employees of the department store and Waitrose, its supermarket arm. Many of the posts stated that the award went against the fairness principles of the partnership and did not address the selfless work by many staff during the pandemic's height. Some 4,000 John Lewis workers, rather than join the furlough scheme, volunteered to work at Waitrose risking Covid exposure over the past 18 months. A partnership council meeting will discuss the issue at a meeting on Friday 24 September after the decision was voted through by the council last year. One employee told the Financial Times “[John] Spedan Lewis would be rolling in his grave at the way partners are being treated.” The partnership was founded by Spedan Lewis, who created
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