John Lewis staff get bonus worth nine weeks' wages

STAFF at the John Lewis store in Cribbs Causeway cheered to the rafters when their annual bonus was announced.

The 700-strong staff at the South Gloucestershire store will each get a bonus worth nine weeks of wages.

And for one member of staff the extra cash is extra special as it is helping to pay for an engagement ring.

Staff were told the news that they were to get the 17 per cent bonus yesterday morning – an increase of two per cent on the previous year.

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Boss of the store Liz Mehill said the workers were delighted with the news. She added: "We have a had a great year and this is confirmation of that. In the weeks before Christmas we had two of our best weeks on record."

Despite the tough conditions on the High Street, John Lewis has continued to buck the national trend.

Ms Mehill said: "We work incredibly hard at what we do and we offer great customer service. We also make sure that our online offering complements what we do in store."

One member of staff who was particularly pleased with the extra money was James Douglas.

The 25-year-old from Westbury-on-Trym has worked at the store for eight and a half years having originally started as a Christmas temp in the catering department.

He is putting his bonus towards an engagement ring for his fiancee, Abbie, a former workmate whom he met on his very first day at the store.

James proposed to Abbie during a holiday to Thailand in December, but because they had just brought their first house he didn't have the money to buy her a ring.

He knew the bonus was on its way though and over the past few weeks the couple have been searching high and low before settling on getting a ring specially designed.

He said: "I really wanted to propose in Thailand because of its idyllic setting and I knew Abbie wouldn't mind waiting a few weeks for a ring. I am so grateful for the John Lewis bonus as it's allowed me to give her the one she really wanted. We're planning to get married in 2014 so I already know that next year's bonus will go towards our big day."