Argos is seeking 670 new employees across the country to cover the Christmas period.

The catalogue-based retailer is to take on additional staff in 40 stores across the country during the festive season.

"Christmas is our busiest period of the year so we always need extra help in our stores to ensure we can deliver great service to the hundreds of thousands of customers who shop with us at this time,” Andy McClelland, national operations manager at Argos said.

New recruits will get an immediate 10 per cent staff discount according to the retailer, as well as a 20 per cent discount at sister company Homebase.

The roles are for up to three months with opportunities to extend to four months and potentially even a permanent employment contract if vacancies are available in stores.

Argos opened its first stores in the Republic in January 1996, and is now one of the largest retail employers in the country with around 1,500 employees.