A CARE worker’s partner said she and her colleagues were boycotting a supermarket chain because it refused to give them priority entry apart from 30 minutes a morning.

Andrew Kilby said carers had limited time with those they looked after and this was eaten up if they had to queue to buy essential shopping for them.

Several shops allow priority entry for carers, NHS staff and those working for the emergency services.

Brighton and Hove City Council has urged shop bosses to help frontline carers for vulnerable to people – as has the Government’s Social Care Minister Helen Whately.

The council even sent letters to care workers, identifying them as people who needed priority entry as they were supporting vulnerable residents.

But Mr Kilby, from Hollingdean, Brighton, said that despite this, Sainsbury’s had made carers queue when shopping for those they looked after.

Store bosses said they gave priority to social care staff from 7.30am to 8am, Monday to Saturday.

Sainsbury’s said councils should not tell carers that their letters gave them priority because the company was sticking to its set hours.

Mr Kilby said his partner and other care workers had allotted times for each person in their care and, as a result, may need to shop at various times throughout the day.

He said: “She and other carers have experienced lack of priority access to the Lewes Road branch of Sainsbury’s.

“She and her colleagues are refusing to shop there because of their treatment even though she is carrying a Government letter issued to her by her employer.”

He told Sainsbury’s that carers in Brighton were being told not to use its stores as so many were refused priority entry, particularly at the Lewes Road branch.

In the email, he said: “My partner has a letter from the Government on her company’s mobile phone saying that they should be allowed easy access to shops.

“Every client has an allotted amount of time to carry out the task required.

“Being told to spend the client’s allotted time waiting in a 

queue outside the store is not acceptable.”

City councillor Anne Pissaridou urged shops to be supportive.

She said: “A letter identifying individuals as an essential carer/care worker/volunteer has been issued to assist people supporting our vulnerable residents.

“We recognise that supermarkets have their own policies and procedures regarding access to

their supermarkets and that they are not obliged to respond to the letter.

“But we would urge them to support these key individuals if they are able to do so.

“Carers in the city are currently playing a vital role in supporting vulnerable people and we would like to thank them for their hard work on the front line in response to this pandemic.”

  • The coronavirus Sussex Crisis Fund has been set up to help those affected by the pandemic. The Argus’s charity and American Express have each donated £50,000 to kick-start the appeal. Grants will usually be for up to £5,000. More information is available at www.sussexgiving. org.uk/apply. To donate visit www.totalgiving.co.uk/appeal/sussexcrisisfund