Background information

The Lithuanian retail chain Maxima has got its employees insured against COVID-19 in order to at least partially compensate for the risks of employees working in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the management, the aim is to guarantee employees financial security in the event of illness. In addition, Maxima paid increased incentives for employees during the quarantine period, organised coronavirus tests for employees at employer’s expense, and took other measures to protect employees’ health.

Content of measure

On 25 April 2020, Maxima announced that it got its employees insured against COVID-19 for six months. Half a year later, with the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Lithuania, the company extended the insurance for another six months until April 2021. Maxima’s insurance package provides for lump-sum benefits to be paid to employees in the event of infection with COVID-19 and hospital treatment, as well as daily hospital allowances. The maximum insurance benefit is €1,500. The insurance policy covers all employees of the retail chain and security staff on duty in the stores, as well as Maxima International Sourcing staff. Insurance will also be extended to cover new employees in Maxima.

Maxima takes care of the health of its employees through other measures, too. For example, in coordination with the National Public Health Centre, Maxima organised coronavirus tests for employees at its own expense. In addition, Maxima has signed contracts with Chinese manufacturers for regular supply of protective measures for Maxima’s employees delivered by special charter flights. During the period from 28 October to 11 November 2020, Maxima dispensed one mask per shopper free of charge in those municipalities where local quarantine was introduced.

Likewise, Maxima pays increased incentives for employees working during the quarantine period. Despite the reduction in working hours due to the quarantine, the average salary of Maxima employees increased by about 10% in 2020.

Use of measure

According to Maxima, a total of about 14,000 employees of the company are insured. In the first half of 2020, Maxima paid its employees around €5.7 million in bonuses and incentives, i.e. about 40% more y-o-y. During the quarantine period, increased incentives were paid to about 10,000 employees in various Maxima chains: sales, logistics, food production, security, and commerce. In addition to usual bonuses, an additional €1.5 million was paid in incentives during the quarantine period. Workers on the store floor were incentivised the most. The company allocates an additional amount of €0.4 million per month to maintain safe shopping in Maxima stores.

Contents

• Bonuses
• Health and safety

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Company / Companies	Employer

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Company level

Involvement

Social partners were not involved.

Views and reactions

No information available.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 25 April 2020: Maxima gets its employees insured against COVID-19 („Maxima“ savo darbuotojus apdraudė nuo koronaviruso) (www.diena.lt)
• 12 October 2020: Maxima extends coronavirus insurance policies to its employees for another six months (Dar pusmečiui „Maxima“ savo darbuotojus apdraudžia nuo koronaviruso) (www.maxima.lt)