When a supermarket worker joined Sainsbury’s in a temporary role for Christmas she never dreamed she would celebrate 30 years with the company.
The mother-of-two Jayne Iacono has seen many changes during her career as a shop worker with Sainsbury’s and has worked in several different roles. She says the best part of working at Sainsbury’s is feeling as though she is part of a big family.
Jayne, from Glenwood Close in Longton near Stoke-on-Trent, had been searching for temporary work after she was made redundant from her role as a lithographer and figure painter at Coalport in 1982.
Jayne started working at the old Sainsbury’s site located in Newcastle when she used a pricing gun and a paper-based ordering system.
The 50-year-old said: “I was just waiting until things picked up in the pottery industry so I started at Sainsbury’s for Christmas replenishing the chocolate shelves. Then I moved on to bread and cakes, unloading deliveries and restocking. I remember when there were price increases we had to empty the shelves of the product, take them out to the back and peel off every price sticker. Our fingers used to suffer when that happened. Since then I’ve been chief display assistant and check out section manager. I now work in stock control and at 5am I walk around the store checking stock levels and replenishing the shelves. Sainsbury’s is like a big family. We took on 200 new staff when we came over to the new store in Liverpool Road and it was a bit different, but it’s a much better store with an open and spacious feel.”
Over the years she has been with Sainsbury’s Jane has witnessed the growth of the company and has worn a total of four different uniforms.
The move from the old store off Ryecroft to the new Liverpool Road location in November 2010 saw a doubling of the shop floor to 55,000 square feet with the addition of a café, bakery and clothing section.
But Jane says that the one thing that has been the same during her time with Sainsbury’s is the rewarding and caring side of the company.
Jane commented: “I enjoy my job, but it’s the company, the people I work with and the customers who make it great. We get a 10 per cent discount and double that at Christmas and we’ve had some great Christmas parties over the years. To mark my 30 years with the company I’ve been invited to London to stay in a posh hotel and have a lot of pampering with other long service staff from all over the country. Looking back it doesn’t feel like 30 years, it has flown by. I just feel lucky I’ve had a job with such a good company for so long. I’ve hardly had any time off sick and I’m usually early for work, but for the first time in years I was late on the morning of my 30-year anniversary. I had to phone in to let them know I’d slept in.”
Staff at the store presented Jane with flowers and a card and the company is also giving her some shares for her long service.
Sharon Fieldhouse, store spokesperson, said: “A lot of people stay with Sainsbury’s for a long time. There’s a great sense of morale among the staff and we all look after each other if somebody is going through a difficult personal time. We would all do anything for each other. There’s one lady working here who is 74 years old. Sainsbury’s is great like that, if you are fit and able to you can work for as long as you want.”