Tesco has committed to filling its Christmas vacancies with employees' friends and family who have been made unemployed during the recession.

The retailer found 20% of its staff have a friend or family member who lost their job during the recent economic turmoil. And it has promised to look after staff and their families by launching a scheme where existing staff members can refer their unemployed friends for a temporary Christmas job.

Tesco plans to recruit 6,000 temps before Christmas, paying them on a weekly basis to help them fund Christmas presents and festivities. The recruitment campaign will take place throughout October.

Lorna Bryson, head of resourcing UK operations for Tesco, said: "This year we want to give extra support to our staff's friends and families. By offering these temporary roles we hope to provide our staff and their relatives with extra help, supporting those who have been most affected by the economic downturn. Our existing staff and their families will have a little bit extra to spend on making the most of the Christmas celebrations.

"Christmas is our busiest time of the year and, as a result, we always increase staffing levels in our stores over the festive period. Many of our existing employees like to take on extra shifts to help ease the financial burden of the Christmas months, and we also offer students the opportunity to transfer from where they work in term time to a store near their home during the holiday period. We always explore these options before looking to hire externally."