Staff at jewelry retailer Pandora said not to report ill for the ‘next three weeks’

Staff at some Pandora franchises have been told not to declare themselves ill for the next three weeks as the retailer embarks on its busy Christmas season.

In a video sent to staff, Joseph Howley, director of The Howley Group, the franchisor of some Pandora stores in New Zealand and Australia, said that staff should not call to report illness or cancel shifts because the company was entering at a time “very busy”. of the year.

Howley can be seen in the video saying, “You are very important to this business, please do not call to let me know if you are sick – if someone calls to cancel sick shifts I need to know they should speak to me directly.

“Unless you have something serious, you are not supposed to do that – for the next three weeks, after that, you can do whatever you want without a problem. But those three weeks I need your full support. Is that clear?”

A Pandora spokeswoman said Howley was not asking staff to avoid taking vacations during Christmas.

“While it was not communicated effectively, the video asked staff to contact The Howley Group directly in the event that they were unable to attend their assigned shift, in order to better manage alternative arrangements,” he said the group.

“The video is not aligned with our overall focus on Pandora.”

Pandora had discussed the video “in depth” with Howley, the spokeswoman said.