When all of this began back in March (doesn’t that feel like a lifetime ago?), we made a commitment to our Team at Old Yale Brewing; to keep each and every Team member employed throughout this Pandemic and continue to pay them their normal weekly pay regardless of how their working schedule had to change to accommodate the uncertain times. You can read through our original letter to our Team, outlining this Response plan, here.
Well, it’s been 7-ish months and we’ve very proud to share that we upheld our commitment, keeping all of our Team employed with regular pay. In fact, our Team actually grew quite a bit over the Summer in order to accommodate the support we received from you; our community!
Now, with cases on the rise and the Flu & Cold Season upon us, we felt it was time to share the next phase in this Response plan, so that you, our customers (and friends!), can rest assured that the health and well-being of our Team and customers are of the utmost importance to us at Old Yale Brewing…
We recently announced our new Team OYB Health & Wellness Program, which you can read all about here. In a nutshell, this program was put in place to help keep Team OYB healthy and well during all of this. We handed out Wellness Crates that featured everything from vitamins and local produce to water bottles, fit bits and books. We also set up healthy snacking and smoothie stations, are encouraging our Team to get active, get outside and work to boost their immune systems and more! We’ve very proud of this program and we’re already thrilled at how invested our Team has become.
Beyond, our Health and Wellness program, we’re making another commitment to Team OYB. The Provincial and Federal Governments have stepped up and provided some very important funding for employees and employers alike during this Pandemic, but one area that we feel is incredibly lacking is short-term support for employees as they deal with potential sickness. Whether one of our Team members needs to get tested for Covid-19 and has to isolate until the results come in (up to 72 hours) or tests positive and then must stay home for at least 2 weeks (sometimes more). There’s some small funding available from the Federal Government, but it’s not enough.
Many of our Team members are parents and providers and should NEVER have to make the choice between coming to work sick or putting food on their family’s plates. None of our Team members should ever feel conflicted when it comes to protecting their own, their families and their community’s wellbeing.
So, with that, our commitment to Team OYB is that every Team Member will receive their normal, expected level of pay for all days missed due to Covid-19 testing or quarantining due to a positive test, throughout the remainder of this pandemic.
You can read the full letter to our Team from our Managing Partner; Zach, below.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this, friends! We truly appreciate your support through all of this and ask that if you visit our Tasting Room, that you please take our Covid-19 Guidelines into consideration, you can find all of them outlined here.
Stay healthy, wash your hands… and drink craft beer!