Makers of M&S sandwiches faced pay dock if they self-isolated, says union
Workers at Greencore factory at centre of outbreak found it difficult to comply due to sick pay warning, say reps
Kevin Rawlinson
Sun 16 Aug 2020
Workers at Greencore factory at centre of outbreak found it difficult to comply due to sick pay warning, say reps
Kevin Rawlinson
Sun 16 Aug 2020
Greencore sandwich factory in Northampton. Photograph: greencore
Workers at a factory in Northampton that is at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak were told they would be paid less than £100 per week if they had to self-isolate, making it difficult for many to comply, their representatives have claimed.
Bosses at the Greencore site, where M&S sandwiches are prepared, acknowledged that many staff were entitled to no more than the statutory sick pay rate of £95.85, as at countless workplaces around the UK, if they followed instructions to self-isolate.
“Statutory sick pay does not support people and, in a crisis like this, you can’t expect people to try to survive on £95 per week,” said Ian Hodson, the national president of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, which represents staff at the site.
He said the policy of only paying statutory sick pay applied to many people who were on minimum wage and unable to build up any savings that would help them through, while more generous company sick pay terms were available to some of their colleagues.
The Greencore case highlights an issue faced by many of the UK lower-paid workers, many of whom have faced a choice between staying away from work while ill or coming in and earning enough to live on.
Hodson also referred to the case of two employees who he said were fired after travelling to work together when at least one of them was suffering from Covid-19. While his union does not claim they were justified in coming to work, he criticised the policy of paying staff so little while they were self-isolating, saying it may have contributed to their decision to flout the guidelines.
It emerged last week that 292 people working at the site had tested positive. Greencore said it had taken the decision to proactively test staff after cases emerged in the East Midlands town.
Northamptonshire county council said 79 people returned positive NHS tests and a further 213 tested positive through the firm’s private testing. Greencore, which employs more than 2,000 people, said it had conducted contact tracing and told potentially affected people to self-isolate.
Last month the Guardian reported that more than 450 workers at four food factories across England and Wales had tested positive.
A Guardian analysis carried out in May found that almost half of the coronavirus hotspots in the US at that time were linked to meat processing plants where poultry, pigs and cattle are slaughtered and packaged.
Referring to the two complaints, a Greencore spokesman said: “In the event that colleagues have had to self-isolate, they have continued to be paid in line with the terms of their contract. This ranges from full pay to statutory sick pay, depending on the type of contract.
“In a very small number of cases where there have been direct contraventions of government policy with regard to self-isolating, which have put other colleagues at risk, we have unfortunately been obliged to take disciplinary action.”
Workers at a factory in Northampton that is at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak were told they would be paid less than £100 per week if they had to self-isolate, making it difficult for many to comply, their representatives have claimed.
Bosses at the Greencore site, where M&S sandwiches are prepared, acknowledged that many staff were entitled to no more than the statutory sick pay rate of £95.85, as at countless workplaces around the UK, if they followed instructions to self-isolate.
“Statutory sick pay does not support people and, in a crisis like this, you can’t expect people to try to survive on £95 per week,” said Ian Hodson, the national president of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, which represents staff at the site.
He said the policy of only paying statutory sick pay applied to many people who were on minimum wage and unable to build up any savings that would help them through, while more generous company sick pay terms were available to some of their colleagues.
The Greencore case highlights an issue faced by many of the UK lower-paid workers, many of whom have faced a choice between staying away from work while ill or coming in and earning enough to live on.
Hodson also referred to the case of two employees who he said were fired after travelling to work together when at least one of them was suffering from Covid-19. While his union does not claim they were justified in coming to work, he criticised the policy of paying staff so little while they were self-isolating, saying it may have contributed to their decision to flout the guidelines.
It emerged last week that 292 people working at the site had tested positive. Greencore said it had taken the decision to proactively test staff after cases emerged in the East Midlands town.
Northamptonshire county council said 79 people returned positive NHS tests and a further 213 tested positive through the firm’s private testing. Greencore, which employs more than 2,000 people, said it had conducted contact tracing and told potentially affected people to self-isolate.
Last month the Guardian reported that more than 450 workers at four food factories across England and Wales had tested positive.
A Guardian analysis carried out in May found that almost half of the coronavirus hotspots in the US at that time were linked to meat processing plants where poultry, pigs and cattle are slaughtered and packaged.
Referring to the two complaints, a Greencore spokesman said: “In the event that colleagues have had to self-isolate, they have continued to be paid in line with the terms of their contract. This ranges from full pay to statutory sick pay, depending on the type of contract.
“In a very small number of cases where there have been direct contraventions of government policy with regard to self-isolating, which have put other colleagues at risk, we have unfortunately been obliged to take disciplinary action.”
The firm added: “Ever since the Covid-19 epidemic started to have an impact on our business, we have worked tirelessly to keep our people as safe as possible.
“All of Greencore’s sites have wide-ranging social-distancing measures, stringent hygiene procedures and regular temperature checking in place. In the case of our Northampton site, we are liaising closely with PHE East Midlands, Northamptonshire county council and Northampton borough council, who are fully supportive of the controls that we have in place.
“We have been in constant contact with unions at every stage of this process and are committed to working with them in close partnership during this hugely challenging time for our people. As ever, the health and wellbeing of our colleagues is our number one priority.
“All of Greencore’s sites have wide-ranging social-distancing measures, stringent hygiene procedures and regular temperature checking in place. In the case of our Northampton site, we are liaising closely with PHE East Midlands, Northamptonshire county council and Northampton borough council, who are fully supportive of the controls that we have in place.
“We have been in constant contact with unions at every stage of this process and are committed to working with them in close partnership during this hugely challenging time for our people. As ever, the health and wellbeing of our colleagues is our number one priority.
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