Lidl Offers Store Employees $200 Bonus To Receive COVID Vaccine

FREDERICKSBURG, VA – Lidl grocery stores, which has locations around Virginia, has announced it is providing employees with a $200 bonus if they choose to receive the coronavirus vaccines as part of being included in the Phase 1b priority group.

Essential workers, including those employed at grocery stores, are included in the Phase 1b group, which became eligible to receive the vaccines earlier this month as announced by Gov. Ralph Northam. On Wednesday, Lidl announced it is offering the financial incentive to employees to help offset costs associated with the vaccines, including travel and childcare. The company — which employees more than 300,000 workers around the world — will also help employees obtain appointments to become vaccinated, the company announced in a news release.

The initiative is part of an ongoing effort to protect the health of its employees, the company said. In January 2020, Lidl began offering comprehensive medical coverage to full-time and part-time employees regardless of how many hours they work per week. In March, the company announced employees would have access to comprehensive COVID-19 medical coverage at no cost.

According to a survey recently given to employees, eight in 10 Lidl workers said they would be willing to become vaccinated if given the opportunity. Company officials said they are working with local health officials to ensure that employees have access to the doses of the vaccines that are available in each area.

Lidl, which is headquartered in Arlington, employees 22 workers in Stafford County and 293 employees in Spotsylvania County.

“We are proud to provide our employees the resources they need to receive the COVID-19 vaccine free of any obstacles,” Johannes Fieber, CEO of Lidl US, said in a news release issued by the company on Wednesday. “From the outset of the pandemic, we have worked hard to put the health and safety of our employees first.

“From offering free COVID-19 healthcare to our entire workforce, to installing hospital-grade air filtration in our stores and warehouses to assure cleaner and healthier air, Lidl has made it a priority to adapt our policies to work better for our people during this pandemic. We are proud to do so again today to ensure that every team member who wants to get vaccinated is able to do so as soon as possible.”