UK's Sainsbury's postpones Christmas parties due to Omicron emergence

British supermarket group Sainsbury's has postponed all Christmas parties until the new year due to the emergence of the coronavirus Omicron variant in the United Kingdom. Sainsbury's is one of Britain's biggest private sector employers with a staff of 189,000, trading from more than 600 supermarkets, over 800 convenience stores plus the Argos chain. However, its current guidance is that there is no need for people to cancel Christmas parties.

British supermarket group Sainsbury's has postponed all Christmas parties until the new year due to the emergence of the coronavirus Omicron variant in the United Kingdom.

Sainsbury's is one of Britain's biggest private sector employers with a staff of 189,000, trading from more than 600 supermarkets, over 800 convenience stores plus the Argos chain. "We have...asked all of our teams to postpone their celebrations until the new year and we will make sure that no one is out of pocket as a result of this decision," Chief Executive Simon Roberts said in a statement.

"We are doing everything we can to protect Christmas for our colleagues and our customers and keep everyone safe," he said, adding that talks were held with the store employee representative group before the decision was made. There have been 42 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in Britain.

The government has made it compulsory for people to wear masks on public transport and in shops to curb the spread of the variant. However, its current guidance is that there is no need for people to cancel Christmas parties.

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