Launched last year, the Term-Time 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.
Alongside the launch of Term-Time contracts in 2023, a flexible part-time contract – with a minimum of 80 hours per month – was also made available to thousands of additional employees. Amazon Anytime lets employees pick and mix the shifts that 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.
One of the dads working at Amazon who has signed up for the Amazon Anytime contract is Eryk Wilczynski, who works as an interim team lead at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Doncaster.
Eryk has worked at Amazon for nine years, but was made a permanent employee in 2021, when his current site first opened its doors. A new dad, with a nine-month-old baby, Eryk recently joined the Amazon Anytime contract, which allows him to pick and choose any shift which suits his needs.
Speaking on the switch, he said: “You get to work on your own terms with this contract – your own schedule – whenever you want; day or night. It gives me a lot of opportunity to work around my personal life – it’s like nothing I’ve seen before. I feel like this option is the best one for what I need right now, given my child is still so young.
“My partner loves it. My baby hasn’t been sleeping much, so my partner’s been particularly tired. This contract allows me to help in a huge way and let her get some sleep while I take care of Alice.
“As long as you give notice, you can cancel a shift and pick another whenever else. Whether it’s my child or partner being unwell, or any other circumstance, I know that no matter what happens I can support my family and have unlimited flexibility. Surely these are the best working conditions you can have?"
This will be Eryk’s first Christmas with Alice, and he’s already planning a flexible festive season:
“I will probably take Christmas off and not need to be concerned, as I’ll do my hours elsewhere in the month. I have total flexibility on my first Christmas with Alice, which is so valuable, and I can fully commit to my family. Hopefully by then Alice will be sleeping!”
Eryk added:
“I think you should work to help you live life to the fullest, both in the workplace and at home. That’s what I’m trying to focus on. All this flexibility helps me live my life how I want to live it. And I think that’s the best part about it. Flexibility like this can help you achieve your goals. And that’s what I think Amazon is all about – supporting people with career choices, flexibility and life goals.”
Aneta Krawczyk has been with Amazon at the same fulfilment centre for three years, and has also recently changed her working pattern to Amazon Anytime. The mum-of-one says it’s made a big difference to her life:
“Kids surprise us, don’t they? Anything can happen, and this contract gives me the flexibility to deal with all of that. You can plan ahead very easily too. As soon as I get Maja’s school calendar, I can arrange my working pattern to fit in around it. Even if Maja is poorly, it’s easy to swap shifts. It’s amazing and it’s exactly what I need at the moment.
“At Christmas I will try and do most of my monthly shifts before the school break, which means we don’t need to juggle or pay for childcare. We’re looking forward to putting the decorations up and doing lots of Christmas shopping together. It’s a magical time for kids, with lights and trees everywhere. I love it – and so does Maja. It’s great to be there for such a large part of it.”
Based on employee feedback and initially launched in Amazon’s larger fulfilment centres, Term-Time contracts – which are aimed at better supporting family needs – have now been expanded to include thousands of employees in the company’s network of delivery stations as well.
Find out more about working at Amazon at www.aboutamazon.co.uk/workplace