Woolworths is slammed as ‘controlling’ after sign appears at supermarkets

A Woolworths worker has criticised the supermarket chain as ‘controlling’ over its new rule requiring staff to record their break times.

On Monday, employees received a message telling them to log when they took their breaks and what time they started and ended their shift.

The new ‘clock practice’ has been introduced to ‘ensure all team members take the breaks they need for their health, wellbeing and safety’.

This measure will allow stores to better manage their workforce and pay their staff the right wages.

A Woolworths employee criticised the company for the rule change, writing on Reddit that the system was “micromanagement nonsense”.

‘Just more control disguised as giving f***. If they were worried about overworked employees missing breaks, then [would] “There must be sufficient staff present at all times,” they wrote.

The employee, who also uploaded a photo of the notice given to workers, said the change would do little to prevent workers from entering the wrong break times.

Daily Mail Australia has learned the system has been rolled out to 10 Woolworths stores in South Australia.

The system will be rolled out to 100 supermarkets across the state by July 29, and has already been implemented in Woolworths Metro and Big W stores.

The Reddit post was flooded with hundreds of comments and social media users were divided over the rule.

“They act like it’s in your best interest and advantage,” one person wrote.

“What a time to be an employee!” added another.

Others defended the system as an effective way to ensure staff get breaks.

“This means they have data on people not taking breaks. They can’t pretend it’s not happening. Could be really good for employees,” one person wrote.

‘I am happy with this. [It] means we get the full break allotted, no partial breaks. And if it is partial, it will be shown in the timesheet,’ someone else wrote.

A Woolworths worker claimed that staff in their store were told to take breaks when told to do so.

Josh Cullinan, general secretary of the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union, voiced his opposition to the rule, saying it would make workers feel like they were being watched.

A Woolworths employee criticized the company over the rule change, claiming on Reddit that the system was a form of micromanagement of staff (stock image)

“If an employee is afraid that his employer will know as soon as he goes on a break or comes back from a break, he will end up taking shorter breaks,” he said. Oh dear.

Mr Cullinan said workers are not paid for shorter breaks, even if they are a few minutes shorter than the allowed time.

A Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the system was implemented to protect the wellbeing of staff.

“This solution is critical to ensuring transparency for our team members so they have visibility into their breaks and can feel confident that they are taking their rightful breaks,” the spokesperson said.

‘These types of systems and scheduling practices are very common in all parts of the economy and in many other sectors’.