OUR RESPONSIBILITIES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
The Skinny: Paid Sick Leave Support Fund
Restaurants almost never offer paid sick leave, and many cannot. Margins for restaurants are so slim that many make 0-2% profit while many others close for lack of capital. At the same time it is a business that depends on folks ‘on their feet’ during open hours. COVID-19 has revealed the sad state of affairs of main street restaurant economics, but I completely understand why paid leave is prohibitive for businesses like ours. That said, the pandemic calls for a different kind of response. Since March of 2020, we established a limited paid sick leave policy for any employee that work more than 20 hours a week. All of our staff at Teatotaller are part of Teatotaller’s success because of their work ethic and judgement, and they know to use an abundance of caution if they feel unwell or believe they may have come in contact with someone who does. This new policy removes any shadow of a doubt: if you are concerned about your health or the health of others, you should not come to work. Concerns about upcoming bills and paying rent should not enter into that calculation. To pay for this program, we have set up a PAID SICK LEAVE FUND. We are using this program to build the funds in case employees need to take time off, as well as support them financially in the case of a temporary business closure. At the end of the day, 100% of these funds go to staff.
Note: While the Paypal fundraiser indicates a deadline+target to raise, that is only due to nature of the fundraising tool. Any support you add to our fund will go to helping our staff.
-Emmett Soldati
Founder