Instacart will give its customers – the workers who choose and fulfill grocery orders for customers – a stipend of $ 25 for the time they take to get a coronavirus vaccine, the company announced on Thursday.
As of February 1, any full-service buyer from Instacart in North America who has purchased at least five lots – which may include one or more customer orders – in the past 30 days and can also verify that they have received a vaccine will be eligible. Shift leads and in-store shoppers who are actively employed when they receive the vaccine will also be eligible.
The company says the $ 25 is intended to provide financial assistance to customers as they spend time away from shopping. Full-service buyers are independent contractors who select and deliver groceries, while in-store buyers are part-time Instacart employees who shop only at the store.
Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta said in a statement that the company is taking “proactive steps to advocate that government agencies recognize Instacart’s customers as essential workers who deserve early access to vaccines.” He joined other companies in the gigantic economy, such as Uber, DoorDash and Lyft, who lobbied for their independent contractors to receive priority access to the vaccine.
Instacart, which does not offer medical benefits to its independent contract buyers, has revealed several initiatives to demonstrate that it is trying to protect its workers from being infected with COVID-19, but with mixed results. Under an agreement with the Attorney General of Washington, DC in June, the company expanded its sickness benefit to anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 by a health care provider, even without a positive test, and provided a choice of telemedicine through Doctor on Demand.
Instacart also said it would provide sickness benefits to buyers living with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. However, buyers reported that the application process for receiving sickness benefits has been difficult to navigate and the benefit has not always been approved.
In March 2020, the company announced its plan to distribute health and safety kits to its customers, which include a washable face mask and hand sanitizer. He says he delivered more than 620,000 kits to buyers through his app and website, but again, buyers described a complicated process for receiving kits. The kits were announced when a group of Instacart buyers organized a strike to pressure the company for better protective equipment.
In June, Instacart announced that it was changing the way it handled customer tips, following the announcement of a congressional investigation into tip-baiting. It is when a customer cancels or reduces a buyer’s tips after their order has been purchased and delivered.