2 Sisters denies staff full reward for working on day of Queen’s funeral | Food & drink industry

Staff at 2 Sisters, the food producer that supplies most of the UK’s biggest supermarkets, will not get the bank holiday off or bonus pay for working on the day of the Queen’s funeral.

The Unite trade union said companies such as Cadbury and Coca-Cola had agreed to give staff an extra day of holiday, pay them double time or stop production altogether on Monday.

But it said 2 Sisters, whose chicken factories were at the centre of a food-hygiene scandal in 2017, had refused to make such allowances for the nationwide bank holiday to mark the service.

The firm, which is owned by the West Midlands “chicken king” Ranjit Boparan, told Unite that “operations will remain open as usual and no additional annual leave has been allocated”.

The union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Many companies cannot switch off their operations during bank holidays, but decent employers compensate their staff for working them.”

A 2 Sisters spokesperson said staff working on Monday would get an extended two-hour break, free breakfast and lunch and could watch the funeral on screens in its canteens.

The West Bromwich-based company is best known for its chicken factories, which process more than 10.4 million birds a week in the UK and Europe and account for about a third of the poultry eaten in Britain every day.

It also makes ready-made products such as pies and pizzas, supplying customers including Aldi, Asda, Co-op, KFC, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

The company came under intense scrutiny in 2017 after the Guardian and ITV found it had been tampering with food safety records in investigation that led to “significant changes” in its operations.

Unite pointed to the company’s heavy losses, both before and after the scandal, saying they reflected the conditions for workers at its factories.

Accounts for the group show that its losses widened from £34m to £95.5m in the year to July 2021, despite revenues increasing 10% to £1.4bn.

The company blamed factors including difficulty attracting and retaining staff as a result of Covid-19 and Brexit.

Unite suggested 2 Sisters would be better able to repair its finances if it offered better pay and conditions for staff.

“The company, where pay and conditions are terrible, says it is working to attract and retain staff to reverse losses,” the union said. “If that’s the case, it needs to offer better pay and better contracts. A bank holiday premium on Monday would be a start.”

A 2 Sisters spokesperson said: “As a UK-wide fresh food manufacturer, it is essential for us to have continuity of operations so we can provide affordable food during these tough times and help to feed the nation.

“As well as maintaining supply, the very short notice of this bank holiday made any contingencies to safeguard animal welfare, food safety and hygiene requirements impossible for us.

“Whenever there’s a scheduled ‘one-off’ public holiday, like the jubilee celebrations, we can plan accordingly and bank holiday leave can be offered, as we did this summer. Those working Monday will be entitled to an extended two-hour break, free breakfast and lunch, and the funeral can be watched on screens in canteens.

“We recognise that some colleagues will require time off, and all managers have been asked to accommodate additional requests wherever possible.”