Wilko To Cut Sick Pay For Workers

Documents seen by Money Mirror have revealed that Wilko is planning to cut the amount of sick pay offered to employees.

Around 21,000 store and warehouse employees will be affected by the changes which will be put in place from 1st April.

The variety retailer has told staff that it will be withdrawing sick pay for all workers after their second absence, meaning that if an employee is ill more than once in a year, they will only be paid statutory sick pay.

Wilko claims that the decision was taken to minimise the number of workers "taking advantage" of the current policy and denies that the changes are in reaction to the spread of Covid-19, advising that any worker taking time off as a result of the virus will be paid company sick pay as “an exceptional circumstance”.

The GMB Union which represents many of Wilko's staff has said that the decision is a "punishment to workers", but Wilko says it has discussed the need to reduce absence levels to make the business more competitive.

In February 2020, Wilko announced the appointment of Jerome Saint-Marc - Group Transformation Director -  as CEO of the business.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Wilko's group finance director is to leave the business and join competitor B&M.

Source : Insight DIY Team

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