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Lidl offers extra pay to U.S. workers receiving COVID-19 vaccine

Company survey finds 80% of employees aim to get immunized as soon as vaccinations become available

Russell Redman

January 20, 2021

3 Min Read
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Lidl said the $200 additional payment will help offset costs related to receiving a coronavirus vaccine, including travel expenses and child care.Lidl US

Lidl is giving all of its U.S. employees who get a COVID-19 vaccination $200 in extra pay.

Arlington, Va.-based Lidl US said Wednesday that the additional payment will help offset  employee costs related to receiving a coronavirus vaccine, including travel expenses and child care. Workers’ schedules also will have flexibility to accommodate appointments for the vaccine, the company added.

Lidl noted that its workforce strongly supports COVID-19 immunizations. According to an internal survey, about eight in 10 employees plan to get a vaccine as soon as it becomes available. The company said it’s providing workers with information about COVID-19 vaccine availability in their areas and working with state and local officials to ensure employees are priority recipients for the vaccination. Grocery store and other food industry workers have been designated as “essential workers” by the federal government and are among those in the initial phases of the national COVID vaccine allocation.

“We are proud to provide our employees the resources they need to receive the COVID-19 vaccine free of any obstacles,” Lidl US CEO Johannes Fieber said in a statement. 

Support for coronavirus vaccinations builds on other efforts to safeguard employee health since the start of the pandemic, Lidl added. Last January, the retailer started offering comprehensive medical coverage to all part- and full-time employees, regardless of hours worked weekly. And in March, Lidl developed a program with health insurer CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield to give all its employees access to full COVID-19 medical coverage at no cost.  

Related:Aldi eyes easier COVID-19 vaccinations for employees

“From the outset of the pandemic, we have worked hard to put the health and safety of our employees first. From offering free COVID-19 healthcare to our entire workforce, to installing hospital-grade air filtration in our stores and warehouses to assure cleaner and healthier air, Lidl has made it a priority to adapt our policies to work better for our people during this pandemic,” according to Fieber. “We are proud to do so again today to ensure that every team member who wants to get vaccinated is able to do so as soon as possible.”

In the United States, Germany-based Lidl operates more than 125 stores in Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia. 

Lidl joins fellow discount grocer Aldi as well as Dollar General and Instacart in providing financial assistance to workers so they can get a COVID-19 vaccination. 

Related:Publix extends COVID-19 vaccination rollout to South Carolina

Aldi said yesterday it’s offering all hourly workers time off and pay compensation to get a COVID-19 shot. Last week, Dollar General announced that it will provide frontline hourly workers with a one-time payment equivalent of four hours of regular pay after receiving a coronavirus vaccine and salaried team members with additional store-labor hours to accommodate their time away from the store to get immunized. And starting Feb. 1, Instacart will provide a $25 stipend to eligible shift leads, in-store personal shoppers and full-service personal shoppers across North America so they can take time away from work to get vaccinated. Published reports also said last week that Trader Joe’s will allow employees to alter their work schedule to receive the vaccine and pay them two hours of pay per dose. 

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About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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