HEART OF ENGLAND CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY COLLEAGUES RECEIVE BONUS PAY AS REWARD FOR THEIR EFFORTS DURING COVID-19

Heart of England Co-operative Society staff who worked tirelessly to keep the network of food stores and funeral homes operating through the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic are set to be rewarded with bonus pay.

The Society is awarding one extra week of pay as a thank you to colleagues who helped keep the shelves stocked throughout the 35-strong network of Food stores, and Funeral colleagues who worked round the clock to support an increasing number of grieving families during the height of the pandemic.

Head Office colleagues who continued working to ensure internal systems remained operational are also being rewarded for their dedication.

In addition to the extra week’s pay the Society had introduced a range of other benefits for employees during lockdown.

These included:

• Providing all staff with a weekly £20 shopping allowance through their staff members’ rewards cards for essential shopping, for a period of nine weeks.
• Providing increased staff discount levels of up to 20 per cent for a period of time.
• Providing frontline staff in Food stores with a daily £5 lunch allowance for a period of time.

Ali Kurji, Chief Executive of the Heart of England Co-operative Society, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic really has been an exceptionally difficult time for everyone and a true test of strength.

“But our colleagues in Food, Funerals and Head Office have shown remarkable resilience throughout the pandemic, ensuring we could continue to provide a service for our Food customers and Funeral client families.

“This level of dedication has always been at the very core of our business and is the reason why the Society has stood the test of time over the past 188 years.

“I am delighted to reward all our staff who have worked tirelessly since the early days of the pandemic, and continue to be committed for the benefit of their colleagues, customers and members.”