NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business

Life in Amazon warehouse 'revealed with timed toilet breaks and workers sleeping on their feet'

By Thomas Burrows
Daily Mail·
26 Nov, 2017 08:53 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Amazon's UK staff have reportedly been caught falling asleep on their feet because of extremely tough working conditions. Pictured - Amazon fulfillment centre in Baltimore. Photo / AP

Amazon's UK staff have reportedly been caught falling asleep on their feet because of extremely tough working conditions. Pictured - Amazon fulfillment centre in Baltimore. Photo / AP

Amazon staff have been pictured sleeping on the job as they claim they are working in "intolerable" conditions to meet punishing warehouse targets.

Staff claim they are shattered from working up to 55 hours a week and some who buckle under the strain are taken away in ambulances.

Cameras monitor every move as employees try to process up to 300 items an hour, it was claimed. Screens remind them if they are falling short, according to the Daily Mail.

Exhausted staff tape over clocks so they are not reminded how long there is to go on their shifts, and have to walk up to a third of a mile to use the toilet.

The claims were made about the online retailer's newest warehouse – which the company refers to as a "fulfilment centre" – in Tilbury, Essex.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The packing plant is the biggest in Europe, the size of 11 football pitches, and is due to ship 1.2 million items this year.

Amazon made £7.3 billion ($14.1b) in the UK last year and employs 24,000.

Shifts begin at 7.30 in the morning and finish at 6pm, with workers given just two half-hour breaks during the day.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

An undercover reporter, who worked at the warehouse for five weeks, said: "I found staff asleep on their feet, exhausted from toiling for up to 55 hours a week.

"In my five weeks I saw staff struggling to meet impossible targets, in constant fear of the sack."

He said timed toilet breaks, impossible targets and exhausting, "intolerable" working conditions were frequent complaints from the staff floor.

The revelations come at a time when Amazon has promised to improve the treatment of staff following accusations of poor conditions and low pay.

Discover more

Retail

The Warehouse v Amazon: Red Shed ups online ante

24 Nov 01:11 AM
Companies

Amazon boss now a US$100 billion mogul

25 Nov 08:27 PM
Retail

Shoppers turn on Aussie retailers

25 Nov 08:09 PM
Banking and finance

ANZ's Sharon Zollner gets top economist job

26 Nov 09:45 PM

Workers in Italy and Germany have gone on strike in protest at their workloads.

On Friday more than 500 employees carried out their first ever strike at Amazon's main Italian hub, in Piacenza near Milan, over pay.

One worker in Tilbury complained: "At my induction, someone was asking why the staff turnover was so high. It's because they're killing people. My friends think I'm dead. I'm exhausted."

Another wrote on a white board for staff comments: "Why are we not allowed to sit when it is quiet and not busy? We are human beings, not slaves and animals."

The Essex plant has no natural light. Instead, fluorescent bulbs are used, preventing staff knowing whether it is day or night outside.

One colleague collapsed as they worked and was taken to hospital by ambulance. Another was seen by paramedics after suffering a panic attack when she learned compulsory overtime meant she would have to work up to 55 hours a week over Christmas.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

One said: "Everybody suffers here. I pulled my hamstring but I just had to carry on. My friend spent two days off after she damaged her knee ligaments."

Some staff pay £4 ($7.76) from their £8.20 ($15.90) an hour wages to catch a bus put on by the company from London to the warehouse.

Responding to the investigation the company said: "Amazon provides a safe and positive workplace with competitive pay and benefits.

"We are proud to have created thousands of roles in our UK fulfilment centres in recent years. As with most companies, we expect a certain level of performance.

"Targets are based on previous performance achieved by our workers. Associates are evaluated over a long period of time."

The firm has also defended itself after it was revealed that ambulances were sent to its main Scottish warehouse 43 times last year.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Emergencies included 15 of the most serious Category A classification, with 23 workers taken to nearby hospitals.

Call-outs to the depot in Dunfermline involved two staff being treated for falls, a call about "traumatic injuries" and two for "industrial accidents".

A previous investigation at Amazon's sorting depot in Dunfermline found workers were threatened with the sack if they took four days off sick - even if they had a doctor's note.

GMB Scotland Organiser Helen Meldrum said: "These are shocking statistics but given the long-standing history of concern over the working conditions in Amazon, I can't say that I am surprised.

"This lends weight to our arguments that Amazon must open up to trade union recognition.

"Ultimately this is a giant multinational which has received significant public money yet continues to go about its business in an unacceptably opaque manner."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

An Amazon spokesman said: "Independent safety experts certify our compliance with all relevant laws."

Last week Amazon launched in the Australian market, and has been tipped to establish a warehouse in New Zealand, according to principal of The Buchan Group's New Zealand operations David Thornton.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Premium
Stock takesUpdated

Record highs for US markets: What it means for KiwiSaver investors

03 Jul 09:00 PM
Property

NZ's most photographed hotel up for sale

03 Jul 08:15 PM
Herald NOW

US economy, impacts of the Investment Boost scheme and NZ's energy problem

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Premium
Record highs for US markets: What it means for KiwiSaver investors

Record highs for US markets: What it means for KiwiSaver investors

03 Jul 09:00 PM

KiwiSaver funds have about $35 billion in US equities.

NZ's most photographed hotel up for sale

NZ's most photographed hotel up for sale

03 Jul 08:15 PM
US economy, impacts of the Investment Boost scheme and NZ's energy problem

US economy, impacts of the Investment Boost scheme and NZ's energy problem

Premium
Stop the presses: Stuff closing about 15 Auckland, regional community newspapers

Stop the presses: Stuff closing about 15 Auckland, regional community newspapers

03 Jul 07:24 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP