More than 700 complaints made about business practices in level 3

Wednesday, 29 April 2020

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there had been 742 complaints about businesses in the first day of level three, mostly about a lack of social distancing.

Images of crowds gathered outside a Burger Fuel restaurant in Auckland circulating on social media concerned Ardern, she said. 

On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the fast food chain said it was not prepared to be 'inundated with a stampede of customers' and was limiting its online orders to prevent overcrowding. 

'Our staff are navigating many new procedures such as, strict hygiene protocols, physical distancing guidelines and contactless food preparation in our kitchens. This, combined with major volumes of orders following five weeks of no operation, resulted in some stores struggling to control crowds at peak collection times.'

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A spokeswoman for Worksafe said it would contact Burger Fuel to discuss health and safety responsibilities under Alert Level 3 and to ensure they are managing these appropriately. 

'WorkSafe will also be contacting head office to ensure all franchise-holders are aware of their responsibilities,' she said. 

The spokeswoman also said people could raise complaints of breaches of the level 3 regulations with the police.

Ardern said she had confirmation from officials that they had contacted Burger Fuel's head office to ensure they understood their obligations and managed their trade.

'They certainly did not fulfil those obligations last night,' Ardern said.

Ardern said the Government would prefer to just warn businesses but would prosecute if needed.

The Burger Fuel spokeswoman said its staff had been given additional video training to ensure they were operating under government guidelines.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said under alert level three businesses had to self-assess their ability to meet the rules and operate safely, just as they would normally, under the Health and Safety at Work Act. 

'Government agencies will not make these decisions for businesses,' she said.