Birmingham Amazon workers welcome term-time contract scheme
It's part of a new contract offered by the online retail giant.
A Sutton Coldfield mum is one of hundreds of Amazon employees in the UK planning their first Christmas after joining the company’s innovative new term-time contract.
Launched earlier this year the contract, which remains a unique UK working option, guarantees time off for the Christmas school holidays, as well as Easter and the longer Summer break, without affecting other company benefits, including private medical insurance and life assurance.
The retail company said: "Two-thirds of those who’ve signed up so far are mums and grandmothers. Dads and grandads make up the rest."
One of the mums working at Amazon who has signed up for the term-time contract is Sharon Kaur from Sutton Coldfield.
Sharon works as an area manager. She said: “Before joining Amazon, I had a few different roles that I was trying to combine with being a mum, but I didn’t find anything that really benefitted my family life.
"When the job at Amazon came up, I thought I’d apply because the shift patterns are flexible and I thought the idea of night shift would mean that I could be there for my family during the day,” Sharon explains.
“When term-time contracts were introduced, the flexibility became even greater. Moving to a term-time contract was the best decision I’ve ever made. It means I can be off when my children are off, I don’t need to rely on my family for childcare and I can continue with my career too.”
“My kids love my working pattern now. I felt I was missing out before, and so did they, so to have this flexibility now is amazing.”
Speaking on how her term-time contract will benefit her and her family this Christmas, Sharon said: “It allows us to sit down together and plan what we’re going to do together during the holidays. As a family, we love to make plans – whether that’s doing an activity, going on a trip or just staying home – and my term-time contract means I can make those plans.”
Initially launched in Amazon’s larger fulfilment centres, the contract has now been expanded to include thousands of employees in the company’s network of delivery stations as well.