Hays Travel home worker left feeling ‘worthless to government’ after being moved to answer 119 calls
Private call centre staff subcontracted to work on Covid test-and-trace services have been advised to limit time away from answering phones to 10 minutes on a six-hour shift and told they might not be paid for breaks, the Guardian has learned.
The workers, who answer calls from home for the government’s 119 Covid number, have to select “comfort break” on their computer before using the toilet and are told to minimise time spent on such absences, or on fetching food or drink, or praying.