Supermarket Tesco has provided free access to a travel safety protection benefit for its 300,000 UK employees.
Through personal safety app Peoplesafe, Tesco employees can get 24/7 protection for commuting to work or travelling for their personal life by setting their destination and mode of transport before travelling. The app can automate welfare checks to ensure staff feel safe and allow them to raise an SOS alert if needed.
Employees can have their location tracked with GPS during journeys, which would allow help to be sent to them in the event of an emergency. If staff do not arrive at their destination on time or fail to respond to messages, the Peoplesafe control room will call to check and can raise an alarm with local police. The app automatically closes tracing once employees arrive at their destination.
The introduction of the app follows employees’ feedback about sometimes feeling unsafe travelling to and from work.
Rachel Bennett, shrink and security director at Tesco, said: “At Tesco, the safety of our employees and their wellbeing is our top priority. Whether they are working in the office, stores or distribution centres, we know employees can feel vulnerable in situations where they are travelling alone or during unsociable hours. We know employees sometimes worry if they are witnessing aggression on public transport, walking on their own or find themselves taking a taxi home as the only passenger.
“We believe employees will value the peace of mind offered by knowing that their journey is being monitored and help is quickly available if they encounter any issues. They deserve to always feel and be safe, at work or in their personal lives.”
Daniel Adams, national officer for trade union Usdaw, added: “We continue to engage with Tesco on the steps and measures that it can take to protect workers across the business and welcome this new commitment to invest in additional technology that will undoubtedly help to provide reassurance to employees.
“All workers deserve to be safe both at work and outside of it. It is positive that businesses such as Tesco continue to listen to these concerns and are making tangible investments to improve worker safety.”
