Staff hold protest over 'unfair sackings'

HelloFresh worker, Tasmin Omar said staff were "sacked for speaking up"

A union which looks after 79 recently dismissed HelloFresh workers said the sackings were an outrage and a disgrace.

Staff from the firm's Warwickshire warehouse staged a protest over the dismissals which the Community Trade Union said came about after the workers complained about working conditions.

Concerns had been raised around toilet break policies and termination procedures at the firm's warehouse in Nuneaton, it said.

HelloFresh refuted the claims and said the staff had been dismissed but only when it uncovered "serious breaches of employment terms" during an inquiry that followed some team members' "refusal to work" earlier this year.

About 80 staff members met with union leaders in protest of the sacking

Former workers met with union leaders at Regents Park Hall in Small Heath, Birmingham.

Jacques Vertommen, who worked at HelloFresh for four years until he said he was sacked via email on Wednesday, said he and others had been forced to wait hours to go to the toilet.

"We don't understand why they sacked us because there was no reason to sack us," he said.

"The environment we worked in was very toxic and people raised their concerns and then went back to work but the management refused and suspended everybody."

Another former HelloFresh worker, Tasmin Omar, who was also sacked last week, said some workers even "had accidents" due to the delays to toilet breaks.

"When you've had a break, you have to wait for so long and sometimes if you need the toilet, you need the toilet," she said.

"We got sacked for speaking up. It's been a really hard time for all of us."

Gavin Miller, regional secretary for the union, said they will represent all of their members who will appeal against their dismissals.

"HelloFresh, I think, have been consciously deaf about this situation," he said.

"They haven't heard what people have said because they haven't created an environment where people could be heard."

The dispute is surrounding HelloFresh's Nuneaton factory in the Bermuda Industrial Estate

A HelloFresh spokesperson said the company was "aware of the gathering".

"We have made repeated attempts to speak with the community this week to consider how we can work together constructively, explain how we support our employees, and discuss their concerns," the spokesperson said.

"While we have not heard back from them, we remain open to speaking with them in the interest of our employees."

In an earlier statement, the spokesperson said the company found "multiple serious breaches of employment terms" during an investigation after a number of team members refused to work, resulting in the dismissals.

"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."