Sainsburys DKH

[Lynne]

Di anyone go there this morning? It was bitterly, bitterly cold. My hands were numb by the time I'd finished. The poor staff. When I remarked on it they asked me to complain to Head Office (which I've done) as they've been waiting since August for the problem to be sorted out

It must have been well below any legal limits for temperature, if such regulations still exist. Why the staff didn't walk out, I don't know. Perhaps that would mean the end of their jobs.

[sunbob]

Yes, you have to clock in and out on a machine and only get paid when your clocked in.

[FredCasa]

Definitely, I’ll complain to head office as well. 

[Lynne]

They weren't exactly overflowing with sympathy at HQ. Said the staff had no right to ask a member of the public to complain on their behalf. So I said that instead of grumbling about their staff they should reward them for loyalty in working in such conditions

[Earl Aelfheah]

Quickly looked this up. Relevant guidance on Workplace temperatures - GOV.UK :

Quote

There's no law for minimum or maximum working temperatures, eg when it's too cold or too hot to work. However, guidance suggests a minimum of 16ºC or 13ºC if employees are doing physical work. There's no guidance for a maximum temperature limit.

...so probably reliant on Sainsbury's choosing to do the right thing, rather than being compelled to unfortunately.

Edited 3 hours ago by Earl Aelfheah

[Sue]

1 hour ago, Lynne said:

They weren't exactly overflowing with sympathy at HQ. 

This doesn't surprise me in the least, having once had a discussion with someone at their HQ.

But Sainsbury's in general are awful, in my opinion. I only go to the DKH Sainsbury's now if I have to pick up something from Argos, and I never use them for deliveries.

In the olden days, aka my childhood, Sainsbury's had such a good reputation, too, albeit before they became supermarkets.

How things change.

Edited 4 hours ago by Sue

[Insuflo]

As a customer of DKH I have sympathy with the staff but this a matter for their trade union to address.

The law states that temperatures in the workplace must be “reasonable”, and adds guidance that a reasonable minimum temperature is 16C for sitting down jobs like checkouts or 13C for physical work like packing and stacking. 

The law also states that there must be easily readable thermometers installed in the workplace so that staff can check the temperature. When I still worked, these would be mercury thermometers red-lined at 16C, so staff knew when it was permissible to stop work if they were uncomfortable. However, I always worked in trade union represented jobs. I suspect (but certainly don’t know) that a lot of Sainsbury’s staff these days don’t bother to join the union, so are not protected (please put me right if you know otherwise). 

In any workplace, you either take collective action to improve things or just accept the conditions imposed on you. If staff are in a union, they need to take a hand in making sure the union and its reps do their job in representing them.

Edited 2 hours ago by Insuflo

[Earl Aelfheah]

Looks like they do recognise a trades union USDAW - Sainsbury’s and Usdaw sign a new national agreement to improve trade union organising and representation within the business

[Insuflo]

Yes, Sainsbury’s do recognise USDAW but I wonder what proportion of shop floor staff actually join up these days. Or become H&S reps etc. Unions only work if people participate.