John Lewis clamps down on working from home as retailer pushes for recovery

Joe Sledge
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 13:45:13 +0000

John Lewis has told head office staff they are expected to spend most of their working time in person rather than at home as the retailer seeks to strengthen performance.

The instruction was issued in an internal memo advising central teams to be present "more in person than not", whether in company offices, meeting suppliers or visiting stores and customers.

The move comes after the John Lewis Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, reported a £21million pre-tax loss for the year ending January 31, 2026.

The group said the loss was driven by £120million in exceptional charges, largely linked to legacy technology write-downs.

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Staff were told the changes are intended to support "better outcomes" for the business.

The retailer said many organisations have reported improved collaboration, stronger workplace culture and better performance when increasing face-to-face interaction while maintaining some flexibility.

In the memo, John Lewis said a number of competitors have already introduced stricter office attendance requirements.

Boots required staff to return to the office five days a week in 2024, while Morrisons ended remote working for head office employees last summer.

Marks & Spencer describes itself as an "in-person business", with support teams attending offices three days a week.

The company states on its website: "We believe that skills are developed through collaboration and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected."

John Lewis said the shift towards more in-person working would help speed up decision-making and encourage creativity across teams.

Despite the change in expectations, the retailer said this does not represent a formal shift in policy.

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A spokesman said: "While some in our industry are returning to the office full time, our policy hasn't changed and we are committed to the flexibility that comes with a hybrid approach.

"To drive collaboration, faster decision-making and creativity, our goal is for central teams to be in the office, with suppliers and visiting shops more than they are at home, so we are working with them to make this happen."

The company said it would continue to offer flexible working alongside increased in-person collaboration.

Central office teams, including departments such as HR and finance, have been told to spend more of their week working face-to-face with colleagues.

The partnership previously adopted a more flexible blended working model and reduced its central London office space by half in 2023.

That decision followed a shift towards remote working after pandemic restrictions were lifted.

More recently, the retailer has tightened expectations, with commercial teams told last year to limit home working to no more than two days a week.

Unused space at Waitrose’s headquarters in Bracknell, Berkshire, is being considered for conversion into additional desk space.

The update follows the partnership awarding staff their first annual bonus in four years last month.