Another suggestion put forward by Foodstuffs was that the Government should consider sticking to a five-day minimum entitlement while raising the cap on the amount of sick leave employees are legally entitled to carry forward from year to year from 20 days, to 25 or 30 days.
Rob Kitchin/Stuff
Foodstuffs says it is concerned about how doubling sick leave entitlements would affect owners of its smaller stores.
First Union assistant general secretary Louisa Jones said it was disappointing that “a major supermarket chain like Foodstuffs” had chosen to take that approach.
Last year, the union surveyed retail workers and 57 per cent told the union they had come to work sick due to pressure from a manager, she said.