Sainsbury’s has announced that it has overhauled the free food options it offers its employes in its staff rooms.
Instead of the free crisps and biscuits it has been providing, the supermarket will now offer workers soups, porridge, fruit, bread and various condiments and spreads, as well as tea, coffee and squash while on shift. There will also be gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options available.
The range of food options previously available often varied depending on the store or depot, but following this overhaul, employees will now have access to a more consistent range of free food during their shifts.
This new policy will apply to all Sainsbury’s stores, Argos sites and distribution centres, and enable employees to make light meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The supermarket said the revamp was due to comments from workers, who stated that the free food they were being offered consisted of largely unhealthy snacks, while some claimed that food options were running out during their shifts.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring that every employee who needs it can have something to eat at work. After listening to feedback, we are making some updates that will provide a more consistent range of free food and give employees the opportunity to make light meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
Earlier this year, Sainsbury’s increased pay by 5% for its 118,000 hourly-paid employees. Also impacting Argos staff, the pay rate rose from £12 to £12.45 per hour in March, and from £13.15 to £13.70 for those based in London. There will be a further increase to £12.60 per hour in August and £13.85 for those based in London, resulting in the total salary for a full-time hourly-paid worker based outside London rise from £22,882 to £24,026 by August.
