Marks and Spencer to take on 20,000 festive staff

Retail giant Marks & Spencer is to recruit 20,000 extra staff for the busy Christmas period – 5,000 more than last year.

The jobs will be based in the firm’s 500 stores in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, with most contracts ending in December or January.

Last year, more than one in five of the group’s 15,000 seasonal staff became permanent employees after finishing their contracts.

Retail director Steve Rowe said: “We want to make sure that our customer needs are met so we’re putting the call out for 20,000 passionate, service-centred recruits.”

The firm, which suffered a 2.8 per cent drop in UK sales for the first three months of the year amid “challenging” conditions, is due to post its first-half results next month.