Coronavirus: New World workers on unpaid leave over lockdown

Saturday, 28 March 2020

Workers at New World supermarkets across New Zealand have been told they will be on leave without pay if they are unable to work over the lockdown.

An email was sent to staff at the Wellington's Thorndon branch on Friday, and seen by Stuff, saying supermarkets were considered 'low-risk' and therefore the company was not eligible for the special leave payment.

It said those with underlying health conditions who were unable to come to work as a result, would have their annual leave paid out, and when that runs out, would be on unpaid leave.

'You do have the choice to return to work, but that is up to you.'

New World Thorndon workers were told if they could not work they would not be paid.

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'If you did decide that you would come back to work, I advise discussing with your GP first to get clearance.'

The letter acknowledged the Covid-19 outbreak was a fast-moving situation, and said supermarkets may be reclassified, allowing workers to be paid.

Another email send to staff at the Northwood branch in Christchurch, said vulnerable people who needed to stay home due to other health conditions would not be paid unless they used their annual or sick leave.

The email was signed off with the hashtag #bekind.

One worker, who had a respiratory condition which meant they could not work had provided a medical certificate to their manager. They were still told they would not be paid.

Staff members from New World branches in St Martins (Christchurch) and Howick (Auckland) also told Stuff they had been made to use annual leave if they needed to miss days.

A staff member at the Thorndon store, who spoke to Stuff on the condition on anonymity, said around 30 workers at their store were affected, and some did not have much leave to be paid out.

He was told the supermarket was not eligible for the wage subsidy, as it required companies to see a 30 per cent decline in revenue.

His options were to take unpaid leave or to return work against medical advice.

'I really want to go to work, it pisses me off I can't go.'

He felt if no government option was available to workers the company should continue to pay its staff.

As New World stores are owner-operated, he was unsure whether staff across the country were affected, or whether it was just New World Thorndon.

He acknowledged it was a fast moving situation and workers like him may be covered by a scheme in the future.

A spokesperson for Foodstuffs - New World's parent company - said any staff member who could not do their normal role due to medical reasons should speak with their manager.

'There are a variety of ways to address this from deploying them to another non-customer facing department to allowing leave.

'Every case needs to be individually assessed following the Ministry of Health's guide to vulnerable employees.'

She said Foodstuffs is constantly evaluating their approach but believe it is in line with other large scale service providers.

At a press conference on Friday, Minister of Finance Grant Robertson said the Government was looking at a sick leave provision scheme for essential workers, especially those aged over 70 or with compromised immune systems.

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