German grocery store Lidl announced an initiative on Wednesday to encourage its employees to receive the vaccine COVID-19.
The company will pay its employees an extra $ 200 to get the vaccine, with the extra money intended to help offset the costs associated with administering the vaccine, including travel and child care expenses, according to a statement from Lidl. Employee schedules will also be accommodated so they can make an appointment.
“We are proud to provide our employees with the resources they need to receive the COVID-19 vaccine free of any obstacles,” said Johannes Fieber, CEO of Lidl US. “Since the beginning 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 ensure cleaner, healthier air, Lidl has prioritized adapting our policies to work better for our people during this pandemic. “
Nearly eight out of ten Lidl employees said in an internal survey that they planned to receive the vaccine as soon as it became available, the company said.
Grocery workers are not yet eligible to receive the vaccine, but will likely do so in the coming weeks, as they are considered frontline workers by the state.
Lidl has 14 stores in New Jersey and plans to open more by the end of 2021.
The company operates about 11,200 stores that employ more than 310,000 employees worldwide.
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Chris Sheldon can be reached at [email protected].