Matthew Horwood/Getty Images
- Aldi will offer employees two hours of pay for each dose of the two-part Covid-19 vaccine.
- Dollar General, Trader Joe’s, and Instacart are also offering employee benefits to get the vaccination.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Aldi, like Trader Joe’s, Dollar General, and Instacart, now will offer its employees incentives for taking the Covid-19 vaccine.
The German grocery chain announced Tuesday that it will cover employee costs associated with receiving the vaccine and provide two hours of pay for each of the two doses received.
In a statement, Aldi said it “is ensuring that all hourly workers who wish to receive the vaccine are able to do so without concern about losing pay or taking time away from work.” Salaried employees will also receive scheduling flexibility.
The grocer joins a growing list of businesses offering to help employees get the Covid-19 vaccine, if they choose. In December, the US approved vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, and since then 15.7 million people have received at least one dose of the two-dose immunization, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Grocery workers are near the top of the list of groups who should be first in line to receive the vaccine, according to the CDC, which recommended healthcare personnel and elderly in long-term care facilities should be vaccinated first, followed by frontline essential workers and elderly over age 75.
Last week, Dollar General became the first retailer to offer incentives for those who get the vaccine. The discount retailer said it will give all 157,000 employees four hours worth of pay, if they receive the immunization, plus paid time off if they have an adverse reaction. Trader Joe's said last week it will offer all 50,000 employees two hours of pay per dose, Fox Business reported. The grocer was not immediately available to comment.
Online grocery delivery platform Instacart will offer its shoppers, who deliver groceries to customers, a $25 stipend to get vaccinated, the company said in a statement. The offer is extended to all shift leads, in-store shoppers, and full-service shoppers beginning Feb. 1 in the US and Canada.
"Since the onset of the pandemic, our entire ALDI team has worked to keep stores safe and stocked, and serve communities without interruption," Aldi CEO Jason Hart said in the statement. "Providing accommodations so employees can receive this critical vaccine is one more way we can support them and eliminate the need to choose between earning their wages and protecting their well-being."