Chesterfield B&Q staff criticise company's decision to reopen - claiming they are being forced to 'put their lives on the line'

Queues were forming outside the Spire Walk store before 8am this morning, with reports of hundreds of people waiting in line to purchase to DIY products, with the current pandemic creating a surge in people wanting to carry out home improvements.

In a statement, the company said it had taken the decision to reopen because it is an essential retailer, and that strict measures had been put in place to support social distancing.

But staff at the Chesterfield store have contacted your Times to raise their concerns, stating that they felt that the company was not, in fact, an essential retailer and that they were being forced to ‘put their lives on the line’.

One worker, who asked not to be named, said: “As employees, we feel that we are being forced to put our lives on the line serving customers in the midst of a pandemic.

“We haven't been given the option if we want to work on the frontline or not, we work or we walk. Concerns have been expressed to managers but seemingly they are being told by higher powers to keep opinions to themselves as we are opening regardless. “With supplies of gloves, masks and hand sanitizer already low, keeping up the levels of safety to operate without risk is next to nothing.

“Even if the business is able to get appropriate PPE, surely taking vital equipment from other essential workers, like the NHS, just to open a non-essential business seems selfish to those that really need it. As a company that sells minimal 'essential' items, we don't feel it is a necessity to open to the public right now.”

Reacting to concerns, a spokesman for B&Q said: “No one is being forced to work. Prior to re-opening, every single colleague in each of the re-opened stores has been briefed individually on the proposal to open. Whilst most roles are customer facing, some are not.”

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