Kepak Group Covid-19 Update: 26th January 2021
At Kepak, the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff, suppliers and customers is our top priority.
As a designated essential service provider, we have remained safely operational throughout the Covid-19 pandemic ensuring that there is an adequate and quality supply of food available to customers and consumers.
Keeping our factories safe has involved the implementation of a wide and comprehensive range of control measures, including but not limited to routine rapid test screening of staff, physical distancing and additional hygiene protocols, at all our locations across Ireland and the UK.
In both jurisdictions, rigorous inspections have been carried out by the relevant public health authorities to ensure that best practice protective measures and procedures are in place and always adhered to by our front-line teams.
Our stringent safety measures are constantly reviewed and updated to ensure compatibility and adherence with the latest guidance from the Irish and UK Governments, while our site teams remain fully engaged with the local and public health authorities.
As the situation continues to evolve, we have updated our procedures and transferred learnings across the business. We have supported our employees with regular updates, training and guidance, and activated screening solutions to ensure our teams are always safe in work.
Kepak continues to observe all recommended public health protocols during this pandemic, including comprehensive testing, contact tracing and return to work guidelines
Continued operations are only possible as a consequence of the commitment and efforts of our staff and suppliers, as well as hauliers and service providers. We are very grateful to all of them for their support during this challenging period.
Kepak Group Covid-19 Update: 18th November 2020
Kepak continues to work diligently to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of staff and suppliers throughout the current pandemic by implementing a wide range of COVID-19 protective measures and protocols at each of our sites across the UK and Ireland.
These stringent protocols are constantly reviewed and updated to ensure compatibility and adherence with the latest measures put in place by the UK and Irish Governments, while our local site teams remain fully engaged with the relevant health authorities.
As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve and we learn more about the virus, we have updated our procedures and transferred the learnings across the business. We have supported our employees with regular updates, training and guidance, and activated screening solutions to ensure our teams are safe in work at all times.
Meat processing is designated as an essential service by the UK and Irish Governments in order to provide continuity of food supply during this pandemic. Continued operations in our plants is only possible due to the commitment and efforts of our staff, our suppliers, hauliers and service providers.
Kepak Group Covid-19 Update: 7th Septemer 2020
As part of the Irish Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kepak is participating fully in the national HSE serial testing programme of large food production sites. This comprehensive testing programme was recommended to the Government by the national public health advisory body (NPHET). All employees who work in large food processing sites will be tested for COVID-19 once weekly for four successive weeks.
The testing should not unduly disrupt the normal operations at Kepak’s factories. Kepak has extensive contingency plans in place to ensure that there is an adequate and quality supply of food available to customers and consumers at all times.
As part of this test programme, any Kepak employee that tests positive for COVID-19, and their close contacts, will be required to self-isolate for 14 days counting from the day the test.
In the interests of staff safety, Kepak continues to observe all public health protocols throughout this pandemic, including the implementation of a suite of wide-ranging Covid-19 mitigation measures at all sites.
Kepak Group Covid-19 Update: 23rd June 2020
Kepak Group is designated by the Irish and UK Governments as an essential service provider; we aim to ensure that our customers have an adequate and quality supply of food for consumers throughout this Covid-19 pandemic. All our sites remain safely operational.
At Kepak, the health and safety of our staff, customers and suppliers is our key priority. As such, we are actively engaging with our Employee Forums, and with the relevant Public Health Agencies to ensure that best practice Covid-19 control measures and procedures are implemented and adhered to across all our sites.
Kepak continues to observe all public health protocols during this pandemic.
Kepak Group Covid-19 Update: 18th May 2020
Kepak Group is designated as an essential service provider, ensuring that there is an adequate and quality supply of food available to customers and consumers throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Our factories, therefore, have remained safely operational, since restrictions began in March.
At Kepak, the health and safety of our staff, customers and suppliers is our top priority. As such, since early March, we have implemented a wide and comprehensive range of Covid-19 control measures, including physical distancing and additional hygiene protocols, at all of our 13 locations across Ireland and the UK.
The Group has also established a Covid-19 Response Team at each of its sites, tasked with implementing the wide-ranging protocols and control measures to protect our employees who are officially designated as essential workers.
In Ireland, the Group’s individual site management teams have been in regular and close contact with the regional HSE teams; the HSE have reviewed our protocols and procedures and has expressed themselves as being very satisfied with them. The Group has also worked in close collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, both with their supervisory staff at our processing sites and with the Department’s senior management through the aegis of our sector representative body, Meat Industry Ireland.
Kepak is in constant contact with all staff members through its site Employee Forums to ensure that they understand and are fully satisfied with the significant changes that have been made to work routines for their safety. Feedback to date from staff members has been positive and supportive of the safety measures that have been implemented.
In conjunction with the HSE, Kepak is providing advice and support to any staff that needs to self-isolate due to either a positive result or being a close contact of a confirmed case. The Group is working tirelessly to protect its staff as well as ensuring the continuity of secure food supply during this pandemic.
The testing of staff and the reporting of results is the responsibility of the HSE. Kepak cannot interfere in this process but has fully complied with and facilitated the coordination of staff testing by the HSE. All staff members returning to work are fully adhering to HSE return to work guidelines.
Kepak continues to review and modify its response to the Covid-19 situation, ensuring all measures implemented are aligned to the most up to date public health advice.
For more information on all new protocols and measures undertaken within Kepak’s sites please view our COVID 19 Policy Document below (available in several languages).