A great place to work

A great place to work

We rely on the 150,000 colleagues working in our stores, offices and depots to provide great service for our customers every single day. They are the face of Sainsbury's, and crucial to our business goals. So being 'A great place to work' is naturally important to us.

Our vision is to make Sainsbury's a place where people love to work and shop.

This means we have to find the best people and treat them in the right way. This way, they will not only want to stay, but will want to do the best they can for our customers. We stay true to our principles of equality, diversity and fairness, communicating regularly and listening genuinely. We give everyone the chance to develop to their full potential and recognise them when they do something special or make an extra effort.

As part of the Government's Responsibility Deal, we have pledged to support our workforce in leading healthier lives, recognising that happy and healthy colleagues will help the success of our business.

We're delighted to be the first ever food retailer to be awarded a gold accreditation from 'Investors in People' for our commitment to improve our business by investing in our colleagues. Out of 168 categories Sainsbury's was successful in 165, an amazing achievement that really sets us apart from our competitors as a great place to work. Providing colleagues with opportunities at work has helped Sainsbury's to deliver against our company goals and grow our business.

Commitments and progress

New jobs and skills
Our commitment By 2020, we'll create 50,000 new job opportunities in the UK and at least half of our colleagues will have received externally accredited training. Read more in Sainsbury's view on job opportunities and training.	Our progress to date First food retailer to be awarded a gold accreditation from 'Investors in People' for our commitment to improving our business by investing in our colleagues. First company to offer all of our colleagues the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised qualification under our 'You Can' programme. Over 6,000 new jobs created over the last financial year (2010/11). Opened six Food Colleges across the UK, offering training to the colleagues who work on our meat, fish and hot food counters and cafés. City & Guilds, the UK's largest provider of vocational education, has formally accredited the high standards of training available at Sainsbury's six Food Colleges and our Bakery College. In 2011, 6,000 Sainsbury's colleagues from across Britain attended the Colleges - making this the largest ever accreditation in the history of City & Guilds.
Long service
Our commitment By 2020, 20,000 of our colleagues will have reached 20 years of service at Sainsbury's. Read more in Sainsbury's view on investing in our colleagues.	Our progress to date We ensure that everyone at Sainsbury's can ask for flexible working, as we believe a good work/life balance creates a better, more enjoyable and more productive workplace. Developed a new policy for our colleagues who are carers with an innovative partnership with Carers UK.
Sharing in success
Our commitment By 2020, we'll increase the number of colleagues with shares in our business by 25 per cent. Read more in Sainsbury's view on sharing success with our colleagues.	Our progress to date Over the past five years we have paid out over £350 million in bonuses to our eligible colleagues in stores, depots and offices. More than 124,000 eligible colleagues shared a bonus of around £60 million in 2011. We currently have over 40,000 colleagues with shares in the business. Many of these are through the Sainsbury's Sharesave scheme or through the Sainsbury's Share Purchase Plan.
Work opportunities for disadvantaged groups
Our commitment By 2020, we'll have provided 30,000 people from disadvantaged groups with work opportunities. Read more in Sainsbury's view on diversity and inclusion.	Our progress to date One of the first employers to sign up to Local Employment Partnerships in April 2007 to help ex-offenders and the long-term unemployed back into the workplace. Last year alone we recruited over 3,286 people through Job Centre Plus and another 262 through the London Employer Accord. 'You Can' is our scheme to open Sainsbury's up to a wider range of new recruits and help people we already have to develop new skills.