Source: Tom's Hardware UK – Keywords: Amazon.co.uk, Staff, Sick, Fired Category : Miscellaneous
A recent report in The Times claims that Amazon.co.uk is making staff work 7 days a week and threatening them with the pink slip if they take days off for being unwell.
According to TimesOnline, an undercover investigation into employment conditions at one of Amazon’s four sites in Britain revealed some pretty scary stuff about working at Amazon as temporary staff.
The paper sent a reporter to work for Amazon for a week in one of the company’s packing sites. After securing a position with Amazon through Quest, a recruitment agency the etailer uses to find staff, she was told the hourly rate was £6.30, 57p more than minimum wage. She worked on a shift until midnight, earning £6.80 an hour, but was told that she would have to pay £8.50 a day to use a communal bus laid on by Quest unless she wanted to make her own way there.
The reporter claimed that calling in sick earns an employee a penalty point and once a member of staff clocks up six, they’re out of there. This applies even if the employee has a valid note from his or her doctor. The undercover reporter received half a penalty point on her first day for being late, despite the fact that she was there on time and just neglected to clock in.
The area manager for packing told staff that overtime was “mandatory” and that he was going to be “strict” about enforcing it, adding that he didn’t want excuses on why people would not be able to work the extra day.
Amazon responded to the Times article saying those who were not willing to work a lot of hours should not accept a position with the company. A statement from Allan Lyall, VP of EU operations at Amazon said in a statement that demand for permanent roles from temporary employees is at such a high level that the company no longer needs to recruit externally for permanent positions.
Read the full report on the TimesOnline.
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In reference to Allan Lyall's comments regarding the uptake of permanent positions by temporary staff. What bearing does that have on the employees are treated? IF those employees are being discriminated against for being genuinely ill then it makes no difference whether they're employed on a full-time, part-time or temporary, basis - regardless of what any self-important (or seemingly big-mouthed), line manager has to say. The wages for working such anti-social hours look dreadful as well - I wonder what cut the recruitment agency is taking.
Be interested to know what the case would be if we were dealing with the US-based Amazon service.
Disgusting. Taking advantage of real people with real lifes for financial gain. The government should protect peoples rights to earn a living wage, not be abused when genuinly sick and to have time to bring up their familes properly.
If I knew that another company such as Play treated their staff better I would move all my business. The unfortunate thing is I suspect this poor treatment of staff is fairly standard.