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Ikea cuts sick pay for unvaccinated staff who have to self-isolate
Unvaccinated staff will receive as little as £96 a week in sick pay
Ikea has cut its sick pay for unvaccinated staff members who have been forced to self-isolate as a result of Covid.
Unvaccinated workers, without mitigating circumstances and required to isolate after being identified as a close contact of a positive case, could now receive as little as £96.35 a week, which is the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) minimum.
That compares to more than £400 for a 40-hour week at Ikea.
The homeware retailer, which employs about 10,000 people across the UK, implemented the controversial policy back in September and acknowledged that while it was an ’emotive topic’, its policy had to evolve with changing circumstances.
Steve Webel / Flickr
Ikea said in a statement: “Fully vaccinated co-workers or those that are unvaccinated owing to mitigating circumstances which, for example, could include pregnancy or other medical grounds, will receive full pay.
“Unvaccinated co-workers without mitigating circumstances that test positive with Covid will be paid full company sick pay in line with our company absence policy.
“Unvaccinated co-workers without mitigating circumstances who have been identified as close contacts of a positive case will be paid Statutory Sick Pay.”
This comes after the retailer hiked its prices across all of its UK stores as a result of supply issues triggered by the Covid pandemic.
Ikea UK / Twitter
Ikea confirmed that it had been forced to raise its prices by around 10%, which is above the global average of 9%.
A spokesperson said in a statement: “The effects of Covid continue to evolve and impact industries all over the world. Since the start of the pandemic, Ikea has managed to absorb the significant cost increases experienced across the supply chain while keeping prices as low and stable as we possibly can.
“Now, like many other retailers, we have had to raise our prices to mitigate the impact on our business. As prices are influenced not only by the raw material prices but also by transportation, logistical costs and local market conditions, price adjustments differ from country to country.
“Whilst individual price increases vary, the average increase is 10% in the UK, in line with the global average of 9%.”