Morrisons issues statement on changes to Community Champion roles

Every Morrisons store and site has a ‘Community Champion’ - a paid full-time or part-time role which involves working in the local community and providing funds to different causes.

It has seen Community Champions across the country visit nearby schools, hospitals and care homes as well as organise groups and events such as litter picking.

In 2022, the supermarket revealed it had offered a total budget of £1.4 million to Community Champions across the country.

But reports have claimed that Community Champions will see their overall budgets and hours spent outside of the store cut.

Sources claim that affected staff will be given less working hours for their Community Champion role, instead spending more hours in other departments.

It was also claimed that budgets for Community Champions will drop by a significant amount. 

Food in a trolley at Morrisons (Image: PA)

“Any hours in the community would be on a voluntary basis,” one source said.

Another claimed: “It was announced that Community Champions would have their hours halved, meaning they can't go out into the community and work with the services/charities that they have built up relationships with.

“They want us to just bring money into the store. Our partnership charity will also suffer because we won't have the time or resources to do events for them. Most Community Champions work in their own time, spend their own money helping others and this is the thanks we get.”

One Community Champion said: “We are all devastated to have to let our communities down. I understand that in the current economic climate, changes have to be made.

“It's so sad to have it come to an end after all the hard work we have put in, especially over the last three years, I wish the best to all of our community groups and I will still be helping out in a voluntary role.”

A spokesperson for Morrisons said: “Our Community Champions and the role they play within the local community are incredibly important to Morrisons.

“Through the pandemic we made exceptional investments in community hours at a very difficult time for communities and we are now making some adjustments.

“After these changes most of our stores will still have more hours for community work than before the pandemic.”

Morrisons introduced a small group of Community Champions to King Charles III when he visited the supermarket’s headquarters in Thornbury.

The King made a reference to their hard work in a speech to staff watching from the HQ’s balconies and stairwells.

Speaking on the different roles in stores, His Majesty said: “And with so much trouble taken to train apprentices and all the work that's been done by the Community Champions has been so enormously heartening.

"And to see the kind things you do within communities it's very special so I can only thank you for all of that and wish you every possible success in future."