Amazon offers term-time contracts to staff at huge Manchester warehouse after 'listening to employees'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Amazon has offered employees at its huge Manchester warehouse who are parents, grandparents and guardians of school-age children the chance to work term-time only.

The retail giant said the new contracts guarantee time off for the six-week summer break, as well as the two-week Easter and Christmas holiday periods, without affecting the "comprehensive range of benefits" they receive, including private medical insurance and life assurance.

Amazon has also announced a new flexible part-time contract for a minimum of 80 hours a month which lets employees "pick and mix the shifts which suit their needs"; part-day or full-day, day or night, weekday or weekend. READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community Ian Jackson, general manager at Amazon in Manchester, 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’s UK country manager, added: "At Amazon, we’re always innovating for our employees and our customers. "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. "Amazon already provides 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