American coffee company Starbucks has extended all of its temporary Covid-19 (Coronavirus) employee benefits including catastrophe pay and extra service pay until 3 May 2020.
Employees that feel healthy and comfortable to work will receive a $3 (£2.42) per hour bonus alongside their pay. Alternatively, employees who are ill or feel more comfortable self-isolating at home will receive full pay.
Starbucks will adjust its one-time service bonus for store managers and assistant store managers, covering a payout for managers working for 31 or more days.
The organisation will also continue to offer expanded benefits for parents, whether they are working a shift or not, such as childcare assistance through its Care at Work scheme, providing parents with up to 20 days of back-up care, and the option to use out-of-network caregivers, with a reimbursement of up to $125 (£107.94) per day.
In an open letter to employees, Rossann Williams, president at Starbucks, said: “I’ve been a proud Starbucks partner for 15 years, and I’ve never seen us come together the way we have these last few weeks, doing everything we can to support each other, our customers and our communities.
“I know that the moments we are creating right now are the best moments our customers may have in their day-to-day lives, and our role in providing these moments has never been more important.
“These moments will lay the groundwork for our journey ahead as we continue to build this different kind of company together. I anticipate that we will have to navigate even more changes in the days and weeks ahead as we continue to learn new facts and science-based recommendations from our health care experts and local governments.
“You have our commitment – my commitment – that we will always make decisions with your care and safety first. So, please know this: together, we will get through this, and emerge even stronger, with more courage, resilience and hope for the future than ever before.”