HelloFresh dismisses staff amid toilet break row

Staff at the HelloFresh warehouse had raised concerns over toilet breaks, a union said.

Food delivery company HelloFresh has dismissed 79 workers who spoke out against "dire working conditions", a trade union has said.

Concerns around toilet break policies and termination procedures were raised by staff at the firm's warehouse in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

HelloFresh said it refuted the claims over conditions, adding 79 workers had been dismissed but when it uncovered "serious breaches of employment terms" during an inquiry that followed some team members' "refusal to work" earlier this year.

Community Trade Union called the dismissals an "outrage" and a "disgrace", and said it would be supporting those affected.

The union said workers were dismissed via email on Wednesday evening, adding they were all production operatives whose role in the warehouse was primarily picking and packing orders for customers.

A union spokesperson claimed HelloFresh had a "draconian approach to its workforce" and had prevented workers from taking toilet breaks and had dismissed them "without following any sort of fair procedure".

"HelloFresh boast in their advertising campaigns that they are all about 'saving stress'," they said.

"That clearly doesn't apply to the stress they are causing to the loyal workforce who now have no income and have not been listened to by their employer.

“We are clear that we will not allow our members on site to be treated this way, and we will be doing everything we can to support the workforce and protest against the company's shameful course of action."

The union added it was its understanding that the matters in question were separate to an incident at the site on St Georges Way on 14 September, where police were called to reports of a disturbance.

'Thorough investigation'

In a statement to the BBC, HelloFresh said it had conducted a "thorough investigation" after a number of team members "refused to work during their shift earlier this year".

"This investigation, which included reviewing CCTV footage, interviewing witnesses on-site, and hearings directly with individuals involved, uncovered multiple serious breaches of employment terms, which resulted in the dismissal of some operatives," a spokesperson said.

The company added it was committed to fostering a "positive and supportive work environment" for all employees and offered "multiple channels" for feedback around work culture.

"Our break policies are generous, all team members have allocated break times throughout their shifts, more than four times the legal requirement," it stated.

"Processes are in place to allow for toilet breaks whenever they are needed."