GMB union ASDA update on pay

This payment will be calculated on actual hours worked, based on the average of actual weekly worked hours, between Sunday 15th March 2020 and Saturday 16th May 2020 (or contracted hours whichever is the higher)

11 April 2020

GMB ASDA union national retail and distribution reps have been pushing for the thank you payment time be paid at actual hours, so this is good news for all their endeavours.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak and the fast changing nature of things, I've wanted to communicate with you on a daily basis to make sure you're getting everything you need – when you need it. After Easter, if things continue to settle I'm going to step-back these notes, to three times a week, so you can focus on supporting your colleagues and serving your customers.

We will of course continue to monitor what still is an ever-changing situation, and I will be back in touch with you outside of these timings on any critical updates. You'll continue to receive the Daily Coronavirus Update with any operational guidance and as always, make sure you're checking Newsflash for any BAU communication.

Today's updates are:

External queue management

Well done for all the hard work you are putting in with your teams to manage the queuing system in to store, as we peak with our Easter trade. We appreciate these queues are getting longer during this peak trade, however all retailers are in the same position. Reassure customers that we endeavour to serve everyone as quickly and safely as possible and have a queue host in place to convey this message, advise on expected wait times and encourage social distancing practices.

Please also continue to use your judgement on the capacity constraints of your stores, we recognise that seasonal areas, core commodities and service points will be under pressure over the coming days and always want you to make the right calls for your stores.

Guidance on disposing of personal protective equipment

It is important that gloves are disposed of immediately after they’ve been removed to avoid contaminating other surfaces. Gloves can be disposed of in general waste bins, however if a colleague has had contact with someone with suspected COVID-19 then gloves need to be removed and double bagged, stored in a safe location and be disposed of in general waste after 72 hours. Please ensure that colleagues are not leaving gloves on counters, checkouts or car parks and they are being disposed in the correct way. There is guidance on this evening's coronavirus update on when gloves should be changed and how to safely remove gloves.

P&L

As you will know, the different steps we are taking to make sure we are doing the right thing for our customers and our colleagues in these challenging times are having a real impact on our financial performance and there are a number of one-off, COVID-19 related costs hitting store P&Ls in March. These P&L documents will be available on WalmartOne next week.

We are still working through where these costs should sit, so please don’t allow yourself to be distracted by this. Please just carry on doing what you are doing, looking after our customers and colleagues and keeping them safe and we will keep you updated on the P&L and forecasting for the remaining quarters as soon as we have more clarity.

Thank you payments

We previously communicated that we would be making a thank you payment to our hourly retail and ALS colleagues of an additional weeks’ pay to recognise their hard work during these unprecedented times. We can now confirm that this payment will be calculated on actual hours worked, based on the average of actual weekly worked hours, between Sunday 15th March 2020 and Saturday 16th May 2020 (or contracted hours whichever is the higher). We’ve updated the Q&As on the Retail and ALS Line Manager’s section of WalmartOne with further details. Please cascade this message to your teams. Payments will be on Friday 19th June.

Washing uniforms

By making sure all colleagues follow social distancing guidelines we’re significantly minimising the risk that they’ll come into contact with someone who is infected with COVID-19. However, it’s still good practice to make sure that colleagues are regularly washing their uniforms as there’s no clear evidence to say how long the virus can last on clothes and fabrics. Government guidance states to wash items in accordance with the manufactures guidelines, using the warmest water setting and dry everything completely. Make sure colleagues are issued with additional items of uniform if needed so they can wash them regularly.

Many thanks

Anthony

GMB North West & Irish Region