A SUPERMARKET worker has come forward with serious concerns about his former workplace after three employees tested positive for coronavirus.
The worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, has claimed management at Iceland store in Festival Place are not taking Covid 'seriously enough' and are allegedly failing to notify employees when they should isolate.
A spokesman for the chain dismissed the allegations and said they are satisfied protocols are being carried out.
Three members of staff have tested positive for the disease in the past month, the store has confirmed.
The Gazette understands one employee who tested positive has opened a complaint with the supermarket.
A former worker, who quit their job over fears about the spread of the disease, has accused the store of 'poor Covid compliance'.
They claim there is no track and trace QR code for the store and up until recently, they claim there was no mask policy or a sanitising station.
The whistleblower said they raised concerns with management but they were 'swept under the rug'.
The ex-employee of the Basingstoke chain said: "It isn’t the greatest feeling knowing the management don’t have your back.
“Anytime anything Covid related came up they wanted to hide it and sweep under the carpet. It got to the point where you don’t know who to trust or who to turn to. I felt like I was banging my head against brick wall.
“There were so many problems in the end it just wasn’t a healthy work environment.”
The concerned ex-worker added: “I go to Asda and Aldi to do my food shop and I feel like they’re taking it more seriously than Iceland.
“Of course, with large volumes of customers there’s only so much you can do but other stores restrict the flow of customers they have proper sanitation stations.
“I just want [Iceland] to take it seriously, even if they just wipe down trolleys after customers have used them and put up a QR code.”
The whistleblower said complaints were raised to the store managers, area manager, regional manager and even the anonymous employee hotline.
A spokesperson for Iceland dismissed the claims: “Three employees at this store have tested positive for Covid-19 since 30 December 2020. There is no evidence that any of them contracted Covid while working in the store and none of them had been at work within 48 hours of their positive test result. All have self-isolated for the usual specified period since their positive test results were received.
“A comprehensive audit of Covid compliance in the store was conducted on 19 January, and we are satisfied that all relevant protocols are being followed. No employee complaints or concerns about Covid compliance in this store have been raised with our HR team.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel