Northampton Covid-19 testing centre staff not paid for three weeks continue working due to 'human spirit'

The company responsible for pay say it is a ‘combination of an administrative issue and colleagues not completing details correctly’
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A number of members of staff who work at a Northampton Covid-19 testing centre have not been paid correctly for at least three to four weeks.

Colleagues who work at the site at the University of Northampton Waterside campus say they have continued to work due to ‘human spirit’, but that they are angry about the situation.

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The site, which is open to members of the public, was run by third party company G4S until around five weeks ago.

Staff from a Covid-19 testing site have not been paid correctly for three weeks. (File picture).Staff from a Covid-19 testing site have not been paid correctly for three weeks. (File picture).
Staff from a Covid-19 testing site have not been paid correctly for three weeks. (File picture).

Mitie - another third party company - took over the contract and has since failed to pay all employees correctly.

Between 20 and 25 people work at the site and are all supposed to be paid weekly.

Two members of staff contacted Chronicle & Echo to say they had tried to contact the company numerous times about pay but were not able to achieve anything.

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One employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “We just kept being told ‘you’ll be paid tomorrow’.

“This happened on several occasions and then it got to the point where we couldn’t even get through on the phone.

“Everyone is so angry. We have been working out of human spirit because it’s for the NHS but people have been crying because they haven’t had money for so long.”

Another employee added: “A lot of workers haven’t been put on the new company’s system but there has been a lack of communication about it all.

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“We work 13 hour days, they’re long old days and we’ve had to continue through public spirit.”

The company in charge of paying the testing site staff has said the issue is down to a ‘combination of an administrative issue and colleagues not completely details correctly’.

It has also said employees should be paid by the end on Tuesday September 7 and that any workers who incur costs or charges due to the delay will be reimbursed.

A spokeswoman from Mitie said: “We appreciate the importance of being paid accurately and on time.

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“We have recently onboarded around 3,000 new test centre colleagues successfully.

“A very small number of these colleagues have experienced pay issues.

“This is a combination of administrative error and colleagues not completing their details correctly.

“This is being rectified as a matter of urgency.

“Colleagues who have already completed their onboarding process correctly will be paid by the end of the day (September 7).”

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The Department for Health and Social Care has also been contacted for comment about the pay issue.

The testing centre is currently closed due to a ‘water issue’ on site, but will reopen as usual once the issue is resolved.

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