Pandemics & Tesco's policy

[Nomad]

https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/news/articles/employees-can-be-furloughed-to-carry-out-caring-responsibilities

Workers who have caring responsibilities can be furloughed by their employer to enable them to care for dependants, the government has said in an update to the guidance on its job retention scheme (JRS).

The guidance, updated over the weekend, now states that workers who are unable to do their jobs because of caring responsibilities resulting from coronavirus can be furloughed. In practice, this means parents whose children cannot attend school could be put on furlough rather than taking annual leave or unpaid leave to look after them.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1265837/Furlough-scheme-details-staff-caring-for-children-eligible-furlough-coronavirus

A worker can only be classed as furloughed when their employer demonstrably cannot afford to cover wage costs.

[Jasperjakes]

Basically Furlough scheme is for businesses who have had to close due to coronavirus like pubs resturants and the like, look at the list. Supermarkets have to stay open as essential work like hospitals so there is no option for them to furlough and have government pay 80% of their  staffs wages.
As for your last point loads of us are in your situation and like the nurse already mentioned. This is how it is.

[Jasperjakes]

Post should have read 'like the story of the nurse'
Think the point is still that tesco are earning so anything they do they will be funding as they've not had to close at all . In fact they took loads of cash when they let their customers panic buy.

[Redshoes]

I think some of the responses are unfair .. im not looking for cracks im trying to ensure my family stays alive . My children are too young to look after themselves and stay in their own rooms etc and my parents shouldn't be looking after them at the moment ... Sainsburys are supporting staff with full pay for those that live with extremely vulnerable people so it shows tesco could do more . Even if they had an option where they paid us and we repaid back over time would be something .Most people can't afford to be off unpaid and so there basically backing people into a corner with no choice but to potentially kill of their family members .Yes it sounds dramatic but that is what could happen.

What childcare did you have before the virus. If you live with your parents and they cared for them then this can continue. If they were in school you can have a letter as a key worker for them to continue with school. If you don't live with your parents but your children were looked after by them this is an issue as you should no longer be dropping children off to another house. If that is the case it's not your vulnerable parents that are the issue its childcare.
People can self isolate together. It's you that need to keep yourself away from them as much as possible and shower as you come in from work.
I saw on the news today a nurse who is living in a tent in the garage at home. This is a bit drastic but it's exceptional circumstances.
There are people keeping our electricity and gas going. We have working phones and Internet. Some luxuries and basics in life continue. We may only fill shelves and not save lives but food is vital and somebody needs to do it. If you want to go down the route you are requesting life will become so much bleaker. Hospitals will be closing, not opening. Power cuts would be happening. No food in cupboards would result in looting. Society would break down. Those that can work need to continue to work. Those that can work from home need to do so. Those that can do so need to isolate as much as possible. We just have to be realistic about it.
Grandparents are not seeing grandchildren. Mums and dads are not seeing grown children and those families that have separated will not be seeing their children either. I am a grandparent that has only been able to wave at my grandchildren through the window. Life is tough for all but it could be so much worse, this is why we are doing all this.
If we are fit and able to work we need to do so. Going home to a close family unit is a luxury. Many people are in isolation alone so keeping your distance from the family who share your house by comparison is not too much to ask.

[Hf]

I live with them they were my childcare before however before there wasn't the chance of me passing something to them through my children. , they cannot keep there distance from me nor from them ...the youngest is 2 so can hardly fend for herself or socially distance from any of us Anyway I'm just saying the same thing over. My question was about furlough which has been answered. Thanks.

[manbearpig]

Does anyone know if Tesco have an official policy for protecting staff who are replenishing stock in the evenings? At my store we are currently unprotected and customers are allowed up and down the aisles while staff are filling them as our store manager has said we are not allowed to block aisles off. Customers get very close to us, some even coughing and sneezing near us - some are also being very rude and reaching their arms over us to get products off the shelf. This doesn't seem very safe considering the current situation...

Just wondered what they were doing in other stores, if anything, to protect shelf stackers... or if Tesco had an official policy on this and whether my SM is prioritising profits over lives.

[Hammer10]

No it’s like that in the day they don’t care about us it’s all lies when they say they do.

[King1999]

If you can’t fill safely don’t fill,leave the shop floor.........I’m loving the extra breaks not bothered what disciplinary joke they come up with.A 10% of nothing doesn’t cover putting myself at risk and my family and you could always go to the press.....they are just greedy twats.

[lucgeo]

Indeed, I noticed on my last weekly shop that some procedures are becoming lax. Instore, people were filling shelves, which was uncomfortable for myself and them. I only had to pass in close proximity once, they had it continually...a mother and daughter were shopping with one trolley, stopping and chatting together whilst the young child ran up and down the aisles. The duty manager should have approached them to request they adhere to the government guidelines and keep to the social distancing policy, for the benefit of all. I was choosing a product from the shelf, and turned round to have another customer reaching past me, her face extremely close to mine...she apologised, not good enough for her recklessness to my health!

I asked the operator to pass on my concerns, as I had found the whole weekly shopping experience extremely stressful, especially as I stay home for the rest of the week to help limit the chance of  me passing the virus on!

[Minniemouse]

I have also noticed more shoppers are being let in stores creating crowds.

[Metal Mario]

Our SM has, at the insistence of the Store Director, opened all checkout banks so now checkout colleagues are working back to back and increased the number of customers allowed at any given time by 50% 

[Mathias casablancas]

On the same day that the UK has announced the biggest daily death rate in Europe so far? This is madness

People need to refuse to go on

[lucgeo]

Our SM has, at the insistence of the Store Director, opened all checkout banks so now checkout colleagues are working back to back and increased the number of customers allowed at any given time by 50%

Is there a screen separating them?

If so, refuse to go on a double manned, until you have written instructions from the store director, stating they are following government direction ensuring it is safe to do so! .

If it is without screening, tell them to go **** themselves! Then place a grievance stating unreasonable request as you believe  they are practicing with reckless abandon and failing in their duty of care!

Please people, do not let these managers play Russian roulette with your lives, take them on...take it to your local councillor or MP...This is not a disciplinary matter, it is not a misdemeanour that a threat of a 1-2-1 will ensue if you don't do as your told. Refuse...refuse...refuse...they can always suspend you...get everything in writing.

[Nomad]

If any one is at a store that is not doing the right things by its staff and customers in relation to social distancing drop me an email as to which store it is and the problem.  As has been said this is a life or death issue for many.

I will create a topic such as 'Stores suspected of being lax', perhaps the media will check some of them out.

Have no anonymity fears, revealing ID is not what I do, I (VLH) been keeping ID's secret for 18 years.

[penguin]

Well while I understand the need to highlight bad practice on this I have to say our sm who is fairly new to our store has been doing a great job over this and really supporting the staff and managers below him, lets hope when the time is right those who have done the right things by others get highlighted just as much as those who have been reckless.

[Mathias casablancas]

I think it’s about laying the blame on people higher than store managers. These desicions regarding opening all check outs and letting more people instore will be coming from high up and Store managers are probs too scared to refuse. I’m sure you have all seen how they act when the store has a “visit” the managers look terrified, like royalty is coming.

If only 25% checkout staff refuse I think you would get a reaction. Obvs it’s better if 100% refuse and they stick together

[lucgeo]

See....it's easier to complain than to follow through..."don't want to cause trouble...they're doing the best they can..." One of the reasons I gave up repping!! Reality check...the SM could be doing the Charlie says routine...it's not me it's the SD...how many line managers have pulled this stunt over the years, " it's not me, it's the SM" do you think??
As has been often stated on here, the buck stops with the SM, it's their store, their bonus on the line.
Seriously, you're going to put yourselves and family at risk, because the poor SM can't stand up to the " alleged " SD's instructions. Remind them of that when you're burying a loved one!
If they can't, or won't, grow a pair, then it's up to you lot to stand firm...sod USDAW, sod Tesco...if you are not comfortable with what is being asked of you, you have the right to refuse, and get to live another day!

[Pathfinder]

Even if screens are in place between back to back checkouts the number of customers  entering the store will remain the same . The back to back checkouts will only be used if all other checkouts are open and are to be used to reduce the ques .

[Mathias casablancas]

My store is a busy one and since they have put the lockdown in place the queue outside has been pretty mental. I think this is a good thing because it puts people off going for inessential shopping. The amount of people they let in the store is about right , the odd isle still looks a bit crowded sometimes and the checkout queues are ok. The systems seems to be working. There is no need to have more checkouts open unless......... the plan is to start letting more people in the store that’s my worry.

[lucgeo]

Even if screens are in place between back to back checkouts the number of customers  entering the store will remain the same . The back to back checkouts will only be used if all other checkouts are open and are to be used to reduce the ques .

Err...here's a thought, let them queue, let them wait, you are there to serve, you are not their servants. You are key workers, and yet are being treated as second class citizens. Posties are key workers, yet often encounter people out on their daily walk, who expect the postie to step aside 2m onto the road to let them pass! 

[blueberet]

If any one is at a store that is not doing the right things by its staff and customers in relation to social distancing drop me an email as to which store it is and the problem.  As has been said this is a life or death issue for many.

I will create a topic such as 'Stores suspected of being lax', perhaps the media will check some of them out.

Have no anonymity fears, revealing ID is not what I do, I (VLH) been keeping ID's secret for 18 years.

I do think stores are trying but the whole store design just doesn't work, I'd hazard a guess the isles are barely 2m wide so impossible for anyone to fill and keep a 2m distance when customers are walking past. They have tried to put in a one way system but it isn't enforced and hard to see. Then you have customers spending forever deciding what to buy so as a customer you either have to wait or pass with a less than 2m distance and if you decide to wait someone else is going to be impatient and pass you at a less than 2m distance.

Out the back its even worse the amount of people that need to pass to get to the clocking machine, the canteen or in the warehouse with empty cages everywhere it's impossible to keep a 2m distance if someone is coming the other way. If you are trying to keep a 2m distance from everyone there are plenty of people that either just don't care or can't be bothered to wait for you to clear the area. Our dotcom area is even worse it is full up with dollies and trays with all the extra orders that there are and with the amount of people needed to run the operation there just isn't enough space for everyone to keep a 2m distance and if it were enforced the whole operation would grind to a halt. I think its just blind luck that people are not contracting the virus from visiting supermarkets if this virus was anymore contagious whole stores would be closing down because there wouldn't be any staff to run them.

So I'm not sure that my store is not doing the right things by its staff and customers, as I expect my experience is the same for every store in the country.

[rayinski]

In my store, where there are back to back tills, they have only been fitted to the till that enable us to have 2m between cashiers, so that means we only have three tills open, and two of our self scan.

[Spidercatcher]

There's a difference in store managers/directors doing their very best to keep staff safe during these difficult times, and store managers/directors blatantly ignoring, nay, defying government guidelines re the 2 mtr rule, thereby putting already vulnerable staff at even more risk.

Who authorised these screens in the first place?  And who gave them the OK that they'd be safe to use? Unless 2 people from the same household are working back to back on these checkouts, it's a mighty dangerous situation to expect any member of staff to work in.

If store managers are too gutless to speak out about this openly, why not tip off the press anonymously themselves if they're worried about their staff?  And if they do neither, what do they say to themselves when they go home and watch the news and see that people are dying in their droves every day FGS! 980 yesterday and we haven't even peaked yet. Do they still think that it's ok to force workers to be so close together at checkouts? 

[Mathias casablancas]

Screens aint arrived at my store yet but went shopping at my local extra this morning and half of the checkout staff were sitting back to back with the screen separating them. Its not really a screen either looks more like a sign and is only about 70cm wide. Checkout staff were less than 1 metre apart.  I left my phone in my car unfortunately, a photo of one would look pretty s*** on Twitter.

My store only has 1 security tag remover for each 2 checkouts. So are they fitting new ones of these or do the checkout staff need to bend round the screen to take the tags of bottles ect

[thor god of thunder]

its basically impossible to keep staff apart...you think about how many you probably walk past in the back or canteen. aisles are barely 2m wide. the check out situation is beyond a disgrace... I can't see how anyone could be disciplined for refusing to work back 2 back on checkouts. my actual take on things is stores should be open longer rather then shorter if feasible. we open at 8 but could easily open before that. this would help spread the customer rush out. working nights should have been put in weeks ago, less people in the store when  open has to be a good thing!! generally our store has been OK but there has had too be a push to make sure it is. there is certainly a lot of room for improvement, near 1000 a day dying and not enforcing distancing as much as humanly possible isn't really a good thing.