Convenience Store Industry Soothes Franchisees... Labor Cost Support for COVID-19 Confirmed Cases

On the 26th, a CU convenience store franchise owner is using the job recruitment application (app) 'Geupgu'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chunhan] As convenience store chains have begun full-scale sales of self-test kits, various support measures are being poured out as franchisees' anxiety about COVID-19 infection increases.

According to the industry on the 26th, CU has established a substitute worker wage support system to help franchise owners who have difficulty operating stores due to COVID-19 confirmation. The wage support covers the amount exceeding this year's minimum wage of 9,160 KRW, with a salary support limit of about 120% of the minimum wage, or 11,000 KRW. The support period lasts until the end of self-quarantine, and assuming the hiring of an 8-hour worker per day during the current 7-day self-quarantine period for confirmed cases and close contacts, support is provided for up to 56 hours. There is no limit on the number of times support can be received.

CU plans to provide an emergency staffing dispatch service specialized for convenience stores through the job search application 'Geupgu' starting next month to help quickly hire substitute workers at stores affected by COVID-19. If an unexpected staffing gap occurs due to unavoidable circumstances of store workers, franchise owners can apply for the emergency dispatch service, and standby personnel will be promptly dispatched to the store to ensure stable store operation.

Emart24 offers franchise owners who must undergo 7 days of home treatment due to COVID-19 confirmation ▲140,000 KRW emergency worker recruitment support ▲20% additional disposal support for fresh food over 7 days. They can also use a free pass for the job matching service 'Dongnae Alba.' Dongnae Alba is a mobile app job platform that Emart24 has been providing free monthly usage vouchers to franchise stores since this year to support smooth worker recruitment.

An Emart24 official said, "Although we hope it does not happen, we prepared this additional support plan to help store operations in case a franchise owner is confirmed positive."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.