Sunday Times also reports employees must work extra ‘compulsory’ hours; legal experts say absence policies are becoming stricter but more compassion is needed
Amazon has been accused of having “intolerable working conditions”, including penalising staff for taking sick days at its warehouse in Scotland.
The e-tailer issues penalty points if employees take time off sick as part of its disciplinary system, found an investigation by The Sunday Times. More than one point results in a ‘series of counselling and disciplinary meetings’, and between four and six points can result in dismissal.
In one instance, a female employee who spent three days in hospital with a kidney infection was docked two points, which was reduced to one on appeal, despite providing a hospital note.
But it is legal for companies to have such policies, said Michael Newman, an employment lawyer at Leigh Day. “Absence policies are definitely becoming stricter. Amazon’s policy doesn’t seem particularly unusual though – the important thing is to distinguish between days off, and periods of absence. It is usually the latter that counts for unfair dismissal purposes, although many policies look at both how long you are off for, and how many times you are off,” he said.
However, while most employers are focused primarily on delivering service and productivity and profitability, they need to show more compassion and support for staff, said Jeanette Wheeler, a partner at Birketts. “Almost all employers operate absence management and sickness procedures that are aimed at managing and keeping sickness absence to an acceptable level,” she said. “Sickness absence is usually disruptive to business to a greater or lesser degree and affects productivity, and alongside this some employers will also use incentives like attendance bonuses.”
The Sunday Times investigation also found that staff are denied proper bathroom breaks, suffer blisters because they walk so much, and have to work 'compulsory' extra days and hours at short notice.
The newspaper also reported that some employees have resorted to camping near Amazon’s Dunfermline warehouse because of high commuting costs. Iain Wright MP, who chairs the business select committee, said the committee would investigate the allegations.
A spokesperson for Amazon said it provided a “safe and positive workplace with competitive pay and benefits from day one”, and paid a starting wage of £7.35, which is 15p per hour higher than the national living wage.
This is not the first time that Amazon has been accused of poor working practices. The GMB trade union recently claimed that Amazon’s workers hadbecome ill as a result of the company’s expectations and working conditions.
Sports Direct was also recently condemned for similar working practices, including a ‘six strikes and you’re out’ discipline policy, and for failing to pay staff the national minimum wage.
Meanwhile, Uber’s working practices have come under fire. The taxi-hailing app has been accused of treating its drivers as Victorian-style “sweated labour”, with some feeling forced to work more than 70 hours a week just to make a basic living.
Labour MP and chair of the work and pensions committee Frank Field created a report, Sweated Labour: Uber and the ‘gig’ economy, following concerns about the labour market.
Field received testimony from 83 drivers who said they often took home “significantly less than the national living wage” after paying their running costs.