What: Marks & Spencer (M&S) is hiring over 11,000 customer assistants for the festive season, exceeding last year's recruitment by more than 1,000 roles.

Why it is important: This recruitment drive is crucial for M&S to meet increased demand during the busy Christmas trading period, ensuring efficient service delivery and enhancing customer experience.

Marks & Spencer has announced its Christmas recruitment program, aiming to hire over 11,000 new customer assistants to support its stores during the festive season. This initiative marks an increase of more than 1,000 roles compared to last year, reflecting the retailer's preparation for heightened demand. The new hires will play a vital role in M&S's food and clothing and home business sectors, particularly in delivering its Christmas food to order service.

The recruitment window opens on October 9, with new employees expected to join from mid-November. M&S operations director Sacha Berendji emphasized the importance of these roles in delivering the "magic of M&S at Christmas" and highlighted opportunities for career progression through programs like the Stepping Into Team Manager initiative. M&S offers a variety of roles with flexible working patterns, inviting interested individuals to apply through their careers website.

M&S launches recruitment for 11,000 festive roles