CEX Staff Concerned For Their Safety, After Stores Stay Open During UK Lockdown
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Featured Image Credit: CEX
As Covid-19 conditions change and shops open and shut according to government advice, many non-essential places of work have closed at the beginning of 2021 to keep both employees and customers safe. In an extensive report from Eurogamer, it has been revealed that not only has high street brand CEX stayed open for click-and-collect services, but employees are concerned about their wellbeing and safety in these conditions.
Eurogamer has been contacted by a lot of staff from CEX expressing that they're concerned about their welfare when handling products from customers that are bringing items to trade-in. In current UK conditions, it's illegal for people to travel unless for necessary journeys, and many would consider trading in games to not qualify as essential.
The "Drop & Go" service being offered requires customers to come to the door of the store and hand over items to the staff at CEX without the staff being assured of these products being clean or Covid-free. At this point, non-fabric items are wiped down and put out for sale, while fabric items are placed in a three-day quarantine.
In the case of Click-and-Collect times, customers aren't even asked to pay online before coming to CEX - they pay at the door, increasing the risk of Covid passing from one person to another once again. One employee notes that CEX actually has processes in place that could avoid staff manning stores and keep CEX in business during this period, such as shipping goods to and from the head office.
Talking to Eurogamer, there are those that also noted that Covid safety measures were ineffective due to a table being too low for plastic shielding to protect the workers. Sufficient supplies or appropriate gear seem to be missing.
CEX has also recently been criticised for their handling of reselling PlayStations and Xboxes in light of scalpers and stock issues. Eurogamer reached out for comment during its report but CEX did not reply - its full report on the situation gives more details and perspectives, and how it compares to other retailers during the pandemic.
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