Asda and Morrisons to offer 'NHS staff only' shopping hours

Many NHS staff have said that they cannot buy the products they need at the beginning or the end of their shift as supermarkets have seen unprecedented demand.

From today, between 7am-8am, a Morrisons colleague will be on the door to let staff with an NHS badge in.

Opening hours for other customers will move from 8am to 8pm from Monday to Saturday. Sundays will continue to have six hours of trading in line with Sunday trading rules.

Meanwhile Asda has also confirmed that it will be prioritising NHS workers in larger stores every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8-9am.

David Potts, Chief Executive of Morrisons, said: "Staff in the NHS are facing into an unprecedented challenge and we're doing our bit to help them buy their groceries.

"We've seen some nurses and doctors struggling to find what they need and so we're responding with dedicated time for them to shop.

"The core purpose of our organisation, all 96,537 of us, is to play our full part in feeding the nation, it's more than our job.”

CEO Roger Burnley comments; “These are the most extraordinary of times and I am keenly aware of our responsibility to help feed the nation – both by keeping our shelves stocked and deliveries moving – but also by providing employment opportunities where we can and supporting our charity partners to help the most vulnerable in our communities.

"The efforts my colleagues are going to support our customers every day are fantastic, and we will continue to recognise their efforts wherever we can. I also want to thank our amazing customers who continue to donate to our food bank trollies and who continue to think of others, even in such worrying times.”

Asda has already confirmed that it is working to recruit more than 5,000 people into temporary roles from industries impacted by the crisis – helping to ensure people are kept in jobs and wage cost pressures are lifted from struggling companies.

Meanwhile Morrisons is hiring 3,500 extra people.