'I couldn't put my family at risk': Asos worker from Wakefield says conditions at company's warehouses aren't safe

Dozens of people living in the district are thought to be employed at the company's depots in Barnsley and Doncaster, which have continued running throughout the coronavirus outbreak, despite heavy criticism.

Workers have been told they will only be given statutory sick pay - which is £94.25 a week - if they don't want to continue.

One member of staff said he'd reluctantly decided to stop going into work because he believed he was putting his family at risk by continuing to work.

He said Asos had put measures in place to try to help workers with social distancing, but that these weren't effective enough.

Asos said it respected that opinion, but disagreed.

Speaking anonymously, the staff member said: "I don’t want to say the company isn’t doing anything, because I think they are trying to do what they can.

"We’re learning about coronavirus every day, but I just think the risk is too high for it to stay running.

"I'm on statutory sick pay now. It's very frustrating. My bills still need paying and I’ve been told it will leave my credit rating in a bad position, but I didn't want to put my family at risk."

In response to the suggestion the workplace was not safe, Asos issued a statement.

It said: "While we respect the opinion, we would disagree. We are following all overnmental and Public Health England advice and applying all relevant social distancing protocols to ensure the health and safety of our staff, which is always our number one priority."

It was also claimed that Asos had not explained why it was an essential service to staff.

In response to that, Asos said it was distributing a note to staff, which says "online retail is still open and encouraged".

"One of the main reasons that the government is encouraging online shopping is to help with social distancing in the population so we are helping government with this," it added.

Local Democracy Reporting Service