How we're supporting Ukrainian refugees through an employment package

We know that customers and colleagues are concerned about the invasion of the Ukraine, with many Ukrainians forced to leave their country.

We want to help those arriving in the UK and have today announced that Ukrainian refugees will be guaranteed a job interview if they have the relevant skills.

The situation in Ukraine is a huge concern and we want to help families start to recover. In order to do this,we will fast track Ukrainians who apply for the 1,500 salaried and hourly-paid roles available in its stores, warehouses and within our sourcing and procurement arm, IPL.

Also, to help, those new starters will immediately get a 10% discount in store and online and we are also producing a Ukrainian-language welcome pack to highlight the wellbeing support available.

This includes the introduction of badges for Ukrainian speaking colleagues to wear in stores to help customers from the country feel welcome.

Asda’s Chief People Officer, Hayley Tatum, said: “We can’t imagine how difficult the last few weeks have been for those people who have been forced to abandon their homes and seek refuge abroad. We want to support those Ukrainian refugees who come to the UK by helping them find employment as this will give them the stability and security needed to help build a new life for themselves.”

Earlier this month we announced a £1m package of support to help families forced to leave their homes. The measures will include a donation of £100k from the Asda Foundation for national UK-based refugee support groups, with grants of up to £580k available to support local and grass-roots refugee groups within the communities we serve across the UK.

We will also be making a £250k donation to UNICEF and will also be sending essential supplies including George clothing, nappies, toiletries, period products to a site in Poland, where they will then be distributed to those who need them in Ukraine.

As we know many of our customers also want to help, we will be making it possible to give cash donations in-store and via our online grocery website and app to support international charities working on the ground in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.

If colleagues or customers would like to make their own personal donation, they can do so by visiting https://www.unicef.org.uk/donate/donate-now-to-protect-children-in-ukraine/ and to search for available vacancies go to https://www.asda.jobs/ or https://jobs.ipl-ltd.com/