ScS bosses give lockdown workers extra week's holiday after creating 300 new jobs

The Sunderland business is creating the new jobs around the UK to deal with a big jump in demand for its sofas and soft furnishings

Sunderland sofa firm ScS has revealed it is giving staff who worked through lockdown an extra week's holiday, as it reveals a jobs bonanza.

The sofa and upholstery business, which has 99 shops across the UK, furloughed around 80% of its 1,700-strong workforce at the start of lockdown in March.

However, after gradually bringing staff back in following the easing of lockdown restrictions, it said all workers had returned to their roles.

Now, after seeing huge numbers of orders come in on the back of pent-up demand from customers sprucing up their homes, the firm has announced it is creating hundreds of jobs around the UK to cope with the huge demand.

The sofa and carpet specialist hired 150 new employees in August and currently has 150 vacancies for roles in various areas of the business.

It said it withdrew from the Government’s furlough scheme and brought all staff back into work in August, having topped up wages to 100% throughout the period.

Those who continued to work over lockdown have also been given an extra seven days of holiday entitlement.

The move follows a similar reward for Poundland staff which introduced a raft of benefits for workers in April, as a thank you for their work in the coronavirus pandemic, including an extra week's holiday.

The new recruitment drive is in response to the recent surge in sales, with the company reporting a 92% increase in order intake for the period from May to July.

It said the trend has continued in August and September, with sales jumping by 51% over the last six weeks.

ScS is looking to fill a range of both permanent and fixed-term positions, with vacancies in its retail stores, distribution and contact centres, with roles including sales professionals, delivery drivers, contact centre advisors and online sales team members

David Knight, CEO at ScS, said: “Due to a sharp rise in orders, we are in the fortunate position of being able to add to our existing workforce.

“In the six weeks leading up to September, our like-for-like order intake grew by 51%, equivalent to £19m of additional revenue.

“We’re delighted to be able to invest some of this into new staff members, as we continue to navigate our way through these unprecedented times.”