Coronavirus outbreak sees 72 workers test positive after boss told staff they could lose jobs for taking sick leave

MORE than 70 workers have tested positive for coronavirus after one of their bosses threatened to sack staff who took sick leave. Employees at a Bakkavor dessert factory in Newark, Nottinghamshire, were forced to self-isolate after their colleagues were told they would lose their jobs for taking time off during the pandemic. The company, which […]

MORE than 70 workers have tested positive for coronavirus after one of their bosses threatened to sack staff who took sick leave.

Employees at a Bakkavor dessert factory in Newark, Nottinghamshire, were forced to self-isolate after their colleagues were told they would lose their jobs for taking time off during the pandemic.

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The company, which supplies Tesco, M&S and Sainsbury’s, has recorded 72 positive Covid-19 cases, Nottinghamshire County Council has confirmed.

NHS doctors are running on-site testing at the plant, which employs 1,600 people.

A total of 701 workers have already been tested and 33 staff members have returned to work after self-isolating as they are “fully fit and healthy to do so”.

Staff at the factory had previously told local media that social distancing wasn’t being followed on site, and in some instances those returning from coronavirus hotspots weren’t being told to self-isolate.

And in April, operations manager Sean Madden was secretly recorded telling staff at a Bakkavor factory in North London that they would be fired if they failed to come to work.

In a staff briefing, he said the firm had suffered falling order numbers and may have to make redundancies.

He claimed the vast majority of staff absent during lockdown didn’t have the virus and many “just didn’t want to come in”.

Mr Madden said: “If we need to get rid of 200 people’s jobs next month, I’m going to look at who turned up to work and I’m going to look at who didn’t bother turning up to work.

“The people who didn’t bother turning up to work, you know, they will be the first people that we have to get rid of, unfortunately.

“If we look at the 45 percent of people who are off sick (at that time), maybe five per cent of those have coronavirus.

“The other 40 percent of people just don’t want to come.”

Mr Madden also told workers social distancing at the factory was impossible, and that they should wear a sports ‘multi-tube’ around their neck to cover their mouths and nose.

The shocking footage, which showed workers sat less than two metres apart, raised fears staff were being pressured to turn up to shifts.

‘UNACCEPTABLE’

Andre Marques, London organiser at the GMB union, described the behaviour as “absolutely shocking”.

He said: “It is beyond unacceptable to threaten workers with the sack just for trying to keep themselves and their families safe.”

At the time, a Bakkavor spokesman apologised to staff for “any miscommunication or worry caused”, and said they were taking it “very seriously”.

They added: “The manager in question has been given leave and prior to his return to work, he will undertake further training around his role and responsibilities and the high standards we expect of a Bakkavor manager.

“Our advice to all our staff is to stay at home if they are feeling unwell or believe they have symptoms or if they are self isolating due to members of their household displaying symptoms – points that were communicated at the staff briefing you have footage from.”

In response to the Newark outbreak, a spokesman said: “In the event of a positive confirmation, we have an immediate and clear plan to follow and we are working closely with Public Health England.

“Due to the nature of our business, we already have high standards of hygiene, good manufacturing practice and handwashing in place.

“In these unprecedented times, we have further enhanced our safety and hygiene measures  in line with all government guidelines and daily temperature test our colleagues.

“We also have a robust return to work policy in place to ensure those returning to work are fit and well. We wish these colleagues a speedy recovery.”

Shona Taylor, business director for desserts at Bakkavor, told NottinghamshireLive: “We understand the importance of the testing and I have been immensely proud of the management team and all the efforts that have been made to ensure we could deliver this for our colleagues. 

“The programme has been positively received, and colleagues have been supportive and reassured that every effort is being taken to ensure their safety.”

Jonathan Gribbin, director of public health at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “Bakkavor have been very co-operative and we hope that the testing of their employees will allow us to find out more about where people are acquiring the infection.

“However, we know that not all the cases in Newark are linked to Bakkavor so it is vital that people continue to follow the strict guidance to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 across the whole community.

“People should follow social distancing guidance in full including  guidelines about car sharing, washing hands regularly, wearing face coverings, self-isolating and quickly getting a test if symptoms develop.”