A MUM was barred from entering a shop with her baby strapped in front because of Covid ‘social distancing’ rules. Fuming Kat Bailey, 35, said she was ‘gobsmacked’ at being denied entry to Nottingham-based Makro. Mrs Bailey has accused the store of discriminating against single mums and people unable to find or afford childcare during […]
A MUM was barred from entering a shop with her baby strapped in front because of Covid ‘social distancing’ rules.
Fuming Kat Bailey, 35, said she was ‘gobsmacked’ at being denied entry to Nottingham-based Makro.
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Mrs Bailey has accused the store of discriminating against single mums and people unable to find or afford childcare during the pandemic.
The fitness instructor took her three-month-old daughter, Jessica, to the wholesale provider at The Midway on Tuesday.
Mrs Bailey operates Polekat Fitness and Bunjee Fit in the city centre, and needed to get her studio “Covid-secure”, according to Nottinghamshire Live.
She recalled the store had “refused me entry in March when I was with my three-year-old son.
“It was due to social distancing and they said, at the time, ‘it would be different if you had a baby strapped to you’.”
So she was forced to buy more expensive cleaning gear back then.
After being rejected last time, she hoped to gain entry, particularly with her baby strapped in front of her, after the end of the second lockdown.
But, the store again stopped her at the entrance, “and said ‘you can’t come in with a baby.’ I was gobsmacked. She is literally attached to me,” Mrs Bailey added.
Although she tried to speak to the manager, the mum said she was “fobbed off” with staff telling her it was company policy.
She’s spoken out to prompt the store to consider how difficult circumstances are for single parents or those unable to get childcare because of ongoing restrictions.
Victoria Benson, chief executive of Gingerbread, the national single parents’ charity, told the BBC: “We are asking businesses to ensure their guidance for shoppers reflects the needs of… families and this must be communicated across their staff teams.”
A spokeswoman for Makro told Nottinghamshire Live: “The current situation has meant that we have implemented some changes in our stores.
“We are only open to trade customers and not the general public.
“Due to the nature of our shopping environment and the number of customers we are experiencing, children under 16 are currently not allowed into the branch and we are also asking that only two people shop per customer card.
“We are also limiting the number of customers into our branches at any one time.”
