Worker at DHL in Bedford blasts company for not closing after colleague gets coronavirus

The DHL/Argos distribution centre at Marsh Leys in Kempston has come under fire after a member of staff was diagnosed with the potentially deadly virus.

A worker - who wanted to remain anonymous - only just discovered that a colleague had contracted COVID-19 more than 10 days ago and had to be hospitalised.

"It has been kept quiet. I've only just found out about it. It's disgusting - the company are putting people's lives at risk."

He claimed DHLArgos have refused to close the warehouse for a deep cleaning and that any staff too scared to work there were advised to stay away and receive SSP instead.

The man said: "They don't care about us. They said 'if you want to go off work, you won't get paid' - people feel they have to go to work. They have not shut the place for a deep clean."

The worker also claimed the company wasn't being transparent with the teams.

"They have not kept us in the loop about anything. It's poor show by DHL, Argos and Sainsbury's. They need to step up."

A spokesperson for DHL Supply Chain said: “The safety of our employees is paramount and for the past two weeks all of our sites nationally have been following the strict social distancing guidelines set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Public Health England (PHE), with clear enforcement by local management teams.

"The warehouse colleague at Marsh Leys who tested positive for the coronavirus on April 6 had been self-isolating at home since March 26 and was out of the business. However, as a precaution, we identified all colleagues who had been in contact with the individual and instructed them to self-isolate with immediate effect. None of these colleagues have since displayed any Covid-related symptoms.

"In line with government guidance, all sites feature prominent Covid-19 information; hand sanitisers and PPE are widely available and colleagues are regularly briefed around the importance of social distancing.

"However, these measures will only be effective if all colleagues and visitors adhere to them. For this reason we are increasing our briefings to reinforce the social distancing protocol at every opportunity, to ensure the wellbeing of all our colleagues.”

An Argos spokesperson said: "We are aware a DHL colleague at our Marsh Leys depot has tested positive for coronavirus. The colleague was sent home as soon they reported their symptoms. The site teams were updated on this and we asked a number of colleagues to self-isolate for 14 days as a precaution. We have additional cleaning on site and have stepped up social distancing measures in line with government guidance."

Last week, Bedford Today reported how a worker at DHL/Argos had criticised the company for 'contravening health and safety laws' during the pandemic