Asda have said they will offer Ukrainian refugees arriving in the UK a guaranteed job interview.
This comes after Health and Care Secretary Sajid Javid said that the UK has already issued 9,500 visas to Ukrainians with family ties to the UK.
The supermarket giant have also announced they will provide specialist support to those employed who have fled the Russia-Ukraine war.
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There are around 1,500 salaried and hourly paid roles available in its stores, warehouses and within its sourcing and procurement arm, International Procurement and Logistics (IPL), Stoke On Trent Live reports, and Asda have said they will welcome applicants from refugees to fill these roles.
To help refugees settle in their new community, Asda also added that it will make a colleague discount card and access to wellbeing support services immediately available to any refugees joining the business.
The supermarket is also producing Ukrainian language welcome packs to highlight the support available and introducing 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.”
Interviews will be guaranteed to candidates with the appropriate qualifications for the roles advertised – which include warehouse operatives, retail colleagues, delivery drivers, pharmacists and optometrists and all Ukrainian nationals have to do, when they apply for a role with Asda is a tick a box confirming their nationally on the job site.
Meanwhile IPL applicants will just have to provide their nationality when they apply.
Earlier this month, Asda announced a £1 million package to support displaced Ukrainian families in Europe and the UK.
This included a £100,000 donation from the Asda Foundation to support to national UK-based refugee support groups as well as making Asda Foundation grants of up to £580,000 available to support local and grass-roots refugee groups across the UK.
Asda also made a £250,000 corporate donation to UNICEF and delivered essential supplies including George clothing, nappies, toiletries, period products and food to the Polish boarder for onward distribution in the Ukraine.
