Aldi whistleblower claims checkout staff have to scan 1,000 items an HOUR or face the sack
ALDI checkout staff must scan 1,000 items an HOUR or face the sack, a whistleblower has claimed.
Till workers who consistently miss the target - equivalent to one item every 3.5 seconds - face performance reviews that could end in their dismissal, according to a former store worker.
Ex-deputy manager Andrei Ignatescu accused bosses at the cut-price retailer of knowing the figure was “unrealistic”, but said it was used to pressure staff into working at breakneck pace.
Ignatescu, who worked at a branch in Ely, Cambridgeshire told the : “Staff have to meet a target of scanning a minimum of 1,000 items per hour.
“We all got performance reviews and deputy managers would get told if they were not keeping up.
“If you don’t hit these targets, you are shown your actual speed and have a performance review meeting with managing staff. If this happens three times you can be let go.
“I had to be fast and many customers were not happy about it.
MOST READ IN NEWS
“I told the managers this but they didn’t listen. They don’t care because they can easily find other staff.”
The chain has previously stated its tills were 40 per cent quicker than those of its rivals, a key factor in driving down costs for shoppers.
The quota was written on a sheet on the staff canteen wall, according to Romanian-born Andrei, who lives in Ely with his pregnant fiancee.
Monthly performances were also displayed, he claims, effectively naming and shaming those who were least efficient. Some struggled to reach 800 items per hour.
Andrei, 28, quit his job three weeks ago because he “couldn’t handle it any more”. He now works in construction.
A spokesperson for Aldi disputed the claims, saying: “We encourage all our checkout staff to be as efficient as possible which helps us to keep prices low for our customers.
“Our employees are trained to operate the checkout at the appropriate pace for each individual person they serve.
“We offer market-leading rates of pay and actively welcome feedback from employees.
"For example, in our most recent independently-conducted employee survey, 85 per cent of our employees rated Aldi as a great place to work which is higher than the industry benchmark of 80 per cent.
“This former employee never raised any of these matters during his time with us and his claims are unrepresentative of the views of our 29,000 colleagues.”
We told yesterday how the firm’s budget hot tub sold out online within hours of going on sale.
Shoppers spied a bargain when it went on sale for just £299.
Check out our guide to the store’s Easter opening times now.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368