Retailers and delivery operations including Amazon, Royal Mail and Yodel announce a total of 30,000 Christmas recruitment vacancies, which is fantastic news for students looking for temporary work.

The run-up to Christmas, which can even start as early as September and October, is the most crucial time of year for retailers. In order to maximise sales and profits, retailers often need hundreds if not thousands of temporary new staff members to help them keep up with demand.

This year, major companies such as Amazon, Royal Mail and the courier and delivery service Yodel have rolled out a combined total of 30,000 Christmas vacancies, ideal for those looking to earn some extra money for the holiday season and to get vital experience working for an established employer.

Even though the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed that Christmas recruitment among retailers is slowing, with some companies are bucking the trend. Amazon is not only recruiting for 13,000 temporary vacancies this festive season, but also that it will be creating 1,000 permanent positions. Royal Mail, meanwhile, has a massive 19,000 temporary holiday jobs to fill. Yodel is planning to add 5,000 extra staff to its workforce over the Christmas period, to help it cope with the expected influx of Christmas deliveries.

Elsewhere around the UK:

• Beauty and pharmacy chain Boots is hiring more than 6,000 permanent and temporary staff
• Argos is recruiting 9,000 temporary Christmas staff this year
• 20,000 seasonal positions, many of them aimed at students, will be made available in time for Christmas in Tyne & Wear
• In Sheffield, the city’s flagship shopping centre Meadowhall will be hiring 2,000 extra Christmas workers, whilst other high street retailers are expected to create a further 3,000 full and part-time seasonal positions across the festive period
• Parcelforce Worldwide is seeking seasonal delivery drivers to help it keep up with increased demand for parcel and package delivery

Advice for employers hiring seasonal staff

It makes sound business sense to employ temporary staff when you need to cope with increased seasonal demand, but it is important to get the right employees rather than just making up the numbers. Employers looking for seasonal workers need to find quality staff, not just quantity, and this can be difficult. It’s important to make your job stand out, to offer a competitive wage and be clear on who you’re looking for.

Using a specialist recruiter can definitely help to ease the burden of hiring at this very busy time of year. If you can attract the right people, the Christmas period is the perfect way to trial new employees and potentially uncover the right talent to take your business forward in permanent positions in the New Year.

SOLOS Consultants is a specialist recruitment service with vast experience in recruiting temporary, seasonal and permanent positions for candidates and clients of all sizes and industries across the whole of the UK.