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John Lewis confirms no change to sick pay regardless of vaccination status

John Lewis has confirmed it will not be changing its sick pay policy based on vaccination status, just days after Morrisons joined the likes of Next, Ikea and Ocado in cutting pay for unvaccinated staff.

Executive director for operations, Andrew Murphy, said in a LinkedIn post that the retailer does not believe it is right to “create a link between a Partner’s vaccination status and the pay they receive”.

He explained John Lewis has been “hugely supportive” of the UK vaccination programme, giving all employees time off to receive their jab and turning its Bracknell sports hall over to the NHS as a vaccination centre, which has to date provided 160,000 jabs.

Murphy acknowledged leadership teams across every business have had to work “incredibly hard” to navigate what he describes as “the Covid years”, adding: “There has been no map, guidebook or training programme to help anyone find the best way through. Very often, there’s just a choice between a range of unappealing options.”

The John Lewis operations chief pointed out that the decision taken by the partnership was not meant as a judgement on any other business.

“We cast no judgement on the decisions of any other organisation, in fact we’ve enjoyed how united businesses – retailers especially – have been in the face of these huge corporate and societal challenges,” Murphy added.

“However, when life increasingly seems to present opportunities to create division – and with hopes rising that the pandemic phase of Covid may be coming to an end – we’re confident that this is the right approach for us.”

Last week Morrisons said unvaccinated employees who test negative, but are required to isolate, will receive statutory sick pay of £96.35 a week. However, staff who test positive for Covid will receive full sick pay regardless of their vaccination status.

The decision taken by the supermarket followed Next, Ocado and Ikea, which have all confirmed in recent weeks their intention to cut sick pay for the unvaccinated. Both Ikea and Next described the issue as an “emotive topic” for the brands to address.

READ MORE: John Lewis will pay full sick pay regardless of Covid vaccination status

M&S to sell independent chocolate brand after social media backlash

Source: @choconchoc Instagram

Marks & Spencer is to stock products from independent handmade chocolate brand Choc on Choc after the founder used social media to claim the retailer had “copied” her design.

Flo Broughton, who founded the Bath-based chocolatier in 2003 with her father Kerr Dunlop, posted on Twitter and Instagram about the similarities between her Perfect Match white chocolate matchstick product and a similar range on sale at M&S.

In her post, Broughton accused the retailer of “double standards” after it took Aldi to court over an alleged copycat Colin the Caterpillar product, adding that she was “extremely disappointed” in a British institution like M&S. Riffing off the retailer’s famed slogan, Broughton described the product as “not just the perfect match, it’s the perfect copy”.

She added: “Anyone else who has ever had their work copied get on board. I want to make a proper stand on this. Share this post and raise awareness for us so these big brands can’t get away with copying.”

Social posts from Broughton and brand fans called on Aldi to join the conversation. The supermarket has faced legal action from M&S, first over its Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake and most recently The Infusionist range of gold-flake gin infusions, which it was told to surrender or destroy.

Following the pressure on social media, Broughton had a call with the M&S team who she describes as being “very respectful” of Choc on Choc’s product and its position as a small business. Marks & Spencer will now stock Choc on Choc by Mother’s Day and Easter, with the retailer telling Broughton that “innovations like yours should be rewarded.”

The existing M&S chocolate matchsticks will stay on shelf and be launched as a limited edition of the Choc on Choc product. Broughton also said the retailer has committed to accept more ideas from small businesses through its Small Supplier Programme. She described the move as a “huge step” for small business.

The incident with Choc on Choc comes just weeks after CEO Steve Rowe highlighted the “special” M&S innovation process during the retailer’s Christmas trading update.

“Our teams put a lot of work into making sure M&S product is differentiated, is better quality, is innovative and we’re going to make sure we protect that IP and we protect as many of the small suppliers who develop it with us,” Rowe said. “Bear in mind this is small suppliers in the UK who are often getting hurt.”

Pressure mounts on Unilever to revise strategy as investor scrutiny builds

Unilever is facing renewed pressure following its failed attempt to acquire the consumer arm of GlaxoSmithKline, as it emerged activist investor Nelson Peltz has built a stake in the business.

The Financial Times reports that Peltz’s New York-based hedge fund Trian Partners has built up at stake in Unilever, which is an issue for the FMCG giant given the fund has a reputation for pushing organisations to be split up and divisions spun out.

While the size Trian Partners’ stake is unknown, the Guardian reports it could be in the region of 1%-3.5%, in line with previous stakes the fund has taken in target companies.

Last week Unilever saw £7bn wiped of its value after it was revealed the organisation had its £50bn offer for GSK Consumer Healthcare rejected. While the company believes the healthcare business is a “strong strategic fit”, combining Unilever’s “consumer and branding expertise” with GSK’s technical capabilities, investors disagree.

On Friday Terry Smith of the Fundsmith Equity Fund, Unilever’s ninth biggest shareholder, called on the company to improve its existing business before looking for big acquisition, describing the failed bid as a “near-death experience”.

These comments came just a week after Smith launched a scathing attack on Unilever for having “lost the plot” as a result of its commitment to brand purpose.

Another investor Bert Flossbach, founder of the German asset management firm Flossbach von Storch – a top 10 shareholder in Unilever – is quoted by the Sunday Times as saying that the business should focus on its “core competence” rather than over the counter medicine, adding: “Mega acquisitions are often a sign of lack of creativity and regularly go wrong.”

Flossbach added that Unilever should focus on “developing” its existing portfolio through a mixture of “divestitures and smaller acquisitions.”

Such was the pressure last week that the company put out a statement announcing plans for a “major initiative” to enhance performance later this month, following a “comprehensive review” of its organisational structure. Unilever says it intends to shift from its existing matrix structure to an operating model that will “drive greater agility, improve category focus and strengthen accountability”.

READ MORE: Investors turn on ‘arrogant’ Unilever over failed £50bn GSK bid 

TikTok global marketing boss ousted after ‘going rouge’

Global head of marketing Nick Tran has reportedly been ousted from the top job at TikTok after “going rouge” with a series of campaigns spanning NFTs and food delivery.

The New York Post reports that Tran, who assumed the global marketing role in April 2020, revealed a plan to launch a TikTok kitchen concept, featuring foods made popular on TikTok, without getting buy-in from senior leadership.

News broke in late December that the video sharing platform was poised to open 1,000 “ghost kitchens” by the end of 2022, partnering with delivery service Virtual Dining Concepts to deliver dishes across the US that had gone viral on TikTok.

The New York Post reports a source who listened into a call with Tran, attended by 200 people from marketing, during which a TikTok executive allegedly said: “We’re not in the restaurant business and we shouldn’t pretend to be”.

The report also calls out the failure of a “creator-led NFT collection”, developed with celebrities, unveiled in October, as well as TikTok Resumes, an initiative Tran led aimed at placing TikTok users in entry-level jobs at brans such as retailer Target and restaurant chain Chipotle.

An executive is reported to have said on the same call that these campaigns were “out of line with the company’s goals” and were examples of “stunt-marketing”.

TikTok has confirmed Tran’s departure and stated that chief operating officer Vanessa Pappas will take interim control of global marketing while a replacement is sought.

Tran joined TikTok in April 2020 from streaming service Hulu, where he held the position of vice-president of brand and culture marketing. Prior to that Tran served as senior director of marketing and head of social media and brand culture at Samsung in the US. His remit spanned social media, influencer and experiential marketing across entertainment, sports and music.

The role at Samsung was preceded by just almost two years as vice-president of marketing at Stance Socks, during which time the clothing brand partnered with car marque Kia on a Super Bowl ad.

Prior to that Tran spent more that three years as digital marketing and social media lead at fast food chain Taco Bell, where he also worked on the customer experience strategy and framework for mobile ordering.

READ MORE: TikTok’s marketing chief ousted after ‘going rogue’ with bizarre campaigns

WFA launches guide to create a more ‘diverse media ecosystem’

The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has launched a guide to tackling diversity and representation issues in the media planning and buying process, covering issues ranging from inclusive audience planning to measuring success.

Developed by the WFA Diversity Task Force with the support of GARM – the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, the guide highlights four key areas where bias can occur and proposes ways to ensure progress is made.

The first area is inclusive audience planning, ensuring audiences are diverse and inclusive at the planning stage. The guide focuses on supporting diverse voices, encouraging brands to make deliberate decisions on media spend and build partnerships with unique media owners.

The WFA also wants advertisers to think about balancing brand safety with diversity, consciously managing brand suitability and safety alongside inclusion. The last area of focus is measuring success, encouraging brands to measure all audiences fairly and invest in research.

Each area of the media planning and buying process is also illustrated with brand examples, alongside resources from GARM members such as Diageo, GSK, Reckitt and Google. The guide is free to download via the WFA’s diversity and inclusion hub.

WFA Diversity Ambassador, Jerry Daykin, points out that brands tend to think of diversity as a challenge for creative or HR teams, but media plays a critical role.

“The way a campaign is planned and bought can have a notable impact on reach and engagement across different audience groups. Making the right decisions can both ensure brands create more effective campaigns and, critically, play their part in funding a richer and more diverse media ecosystem,” Daykin adds.

“There is a delicate balance between ensuring we block hate speech but increase the funding of positive representative voices, and whilst the solutions can get technical, they all start with advertisers asking some of these simple questions in their brief.” 

Diageo global media director and WFA Media Forum co-chair, Isabel Massey, adds that it is the responsibility of brands not only to create content reflective of today’s society, but for it to appear in media that is diverse and inclusive.

“I am really proud that Diageo has committed to a multi-million-pound global investment over the next two years to media platforms and publishers who are working to make mainstream media more diverse and inclusive, and this guide from the WFA is a great point of reference for all advertisers,” says Massey.

“There’s still so much more progress to make and we need to work together with other brands, media owners, and agencies to drive industry-wide change.”

DMA ramps up marketing apprenticeship push

Data & Marketing Association (DMA) is hoping to increase number of data and marketing apprenticeships available in Scotland, creating more entry-level jobs for emerging talent.

Joining forces with training provider Sixth Sense Training, the DMA says it wants to “demystify” how apprenticeships function, confusion which the organisation believes is impacting their success throughout the UK. The intention is to help find jobs for young marketing candidates, as well as offer apprenticeship opportunities to marketers looking for that next step in their career.

Any person taking a digital marketing apprenticeship with Sixth Sense Training will gain an IDM Award in Marketing training certification and a DMA student membership. Specialising in digital apprenticeships, Sixth Sense Training works with the Scottish Government to deliver apprenticeships across several frameworks including digital marketing, data analytics and creative media.

DMA Talent general manager Kate Burnet believes the partnership will help the DMA support young, emerging talent across Scotland seeking their first roles in the data and marketing industry.

“We have championed the benefits of apprenticeships for many years and we will now be able to further assist our membership organisations, and wider businesses community, by providing them with a trusted contact and framework to set up a successful apprenticeship programme,” she adds.