A WARRINGTON 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 a comprehensive range of benefits, including private medical insurance and life assurance.
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 Daniella Bridgewater from Warrington.
Daniella works at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Warrington as a warehouse associate. Daniella has worked at Amazon since 2020 and joined the company after leaving her previous job as a teaching assistant during the pandemic.
“In my previous role, I really enjoyed working to the school timetable, which is essentially a term-time contract,” Daniella said. “I have a 12-year-old daughter, Kaycee, and working in a school allowed me to spend holidays with her, which I loved.”
“When I made the decision to join Amazon, the flexibility with the shift patterns here was a big plus for me. When term-time contracts came in earlier this year, I jumped at the chance to use it and it’s had such a positive impact on our family,” she added.
Daniella goes on to explain how term-time contracts work. “I get the same time off as my daughter. I’ll have two weeks off this Christmas, two weeks off at Easter and then the full six weeks off during the summer. It’s fantastic – it helps me plan time with my daughter, it means I don’t need a babysitter and it’s just brilliant for our family life.”
This Christmas, Daniella and Kaycee will be using their time off together to indulge in one of their great loves – baking. “We love baking – particularly cheesecakes and Victoria Sponge cakes. This year, Kaycee wants to create a Christmas masterpiece and because of Amazon’s term-time contract, I know I’m going to be at home with her to bake together and that’s really special to me.”
Daniella finished by explaining what she loves most about working at Amazon. “Term-time contracts aside, my favourite thing about Amazon in Warrington is the range of cultural backgrounds on our team. We are such a multi-cultural group and I love learning more about different cultures and celebrations. It’s a really inclusive place and I love that,” she said.
Based on employee feedback and initially launched in Amazon’s larger fulfilment centres, the contract – which is aimed at better supporting family needs – has now been expanded to include thousands of employees in the company’s network of delivery stations as well.
A flexible part-time contract, with a minimum of 80 hours per month, is also now available to thousands of additional employees following its launch earlier this year. Amazon Anytime lets employees pick and mix the shifts which suit their needs; part-day or full-day, day or night, weekday or weekend. The contract is also aimed at supporting people who are unable to find work due to family or other commitments that require flexibility, return to the workplace.
