WORKERS at the Redditch branch of ToolStation claim a colleague who feared he might have Covid was ordered to return to work before he could get tested.
The incident happened on Tuesday this week, spreading alarm and then a walkout by some staff on Wednesday.
An insider, said: “One of the blokes, his mother-in-law and father-in-law had both tested positive for coronavirus.
“They are both in a bubble with the chap’s wife.
“The team leader at ToolStation told him ‘don’t come in, go and get yourself tested and get the results first’.
“Then one of the senior managers rung the bloke up and told him to come in to work, so he had to cancel the test and we still doesn’t know if he’s got Covid.”
In a staff meeting that followed workers claim management said they had checked with NHS 111 and been told they’d acted correctly.
However they say that when the same worker turned up for work on Wednesday, it sparked a walkout by some members of staff, leading managers to tell him to go and get a Covid test after all.
Since then, the man’s wife has tested negative for the virus.
Another insider said: “As far as we’re concerned they’re playing Russian roulette with people’s lives.
“When they ordered him back to work they had no idea his wife had tested negative.”
A spokesperson for ToolStation said: “The health and safety of our colleagues remains a top priority and we are adhering to all government and NHS guidelines in our distribution centre in Redditch and all stores.”
