Anonymous wrote:

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Currently I am a courtesy clerk at a Kroger grocery store, and as per usual I am not getting very many hours. School's about to be out, which means I'll have a lot more free time. If I put my availability for all week at Kroger right now, I know for sure that they will not schedule me that much.

Another local grocery store is currently hiring. A little lower wage, but I heard that they give a lot better hours (and actually give breaks).What's the policy on working for competitors? Keep in mind that this is a very small, local supermarket that is not a chain. 

I honestly would just quit Kroger and move to the other grocery store if I get hired, but Kroger is pretty flexible with my hours and during the school year I can only work weekends and some weeknights.

Also, even if I got hired there, it would be next to impossible for Kroger to find out that I work there aside from me telling them, or i put my "past job experience" on my application and they for some reason contact one of my supervisors.

Just curious, though. Don't want to do something wrong and then get in trouble for it.

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 No one will find out if you keep it discrete. 

The policy I was given, is that working for competitors represents a conflict of interest and is potentially immediate grounds for termination.  At least if anyone feels like following through with it.  The Union contract is silent on the matter.
That said: Not all places count as competition for this purpose. Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Aldi, I believe, do not constitute competition for the purpose of this policy in my area however as this is largely left to management to interpret, it would depend on your store politics.

If you only read one more sentence of my post, just jump to the last sentence.

Here is the relevant passage from THE KROGER CO. POLICY ON BUSINESS ETHICS

"Conflicts of interest Associates should avoid situations in which there is, or may seem to be, a conflict between the personal interests of the associate and the interests of the company. The term "conflict of interest" describes any circumstance that could cast doubt upon an associate's ability to act with total objectivity regarding the company's interests. While it is impossible to anticipate every potential conflict, here are a few examples:
[Skipping a few points.]
accepting payments, services or loans from, rendering consulting services to, or having a romantic relationship with, persons or concerns dealing or contemplating dealing with the company or in competition with the company; 
[Skipping a few points]

Associates involved in any situation that could be, or may reasonably be perceived as, a conflict of interest must disclose the potential conflict of interest to their direct supervisor, department head, or human resources representative. If there is any doubt, the supervisor, department head, or human resources representative should contact the General Counsel for assistance. The company will determine whether the situation constitutes a conflict of interest and, if so, will work with the associate to promptly resolve it. If the situation cannot be resolved, the associate may be subject to termination."

In my experience, as long as you aren't working for whoever the number one competitor for your store is, they probably won't care enough to do anything.  No doubt they don't want you splitting your hours between places.  The main plan is to have a ton of part-time front end staff that can be called in at any time to cover any possible call-offs, so they don't like rigid or blocked schedules up front.

No doubt your Union local would have some advice on the topic as well, get the phone for your union rep and ask if you are super-duper worried.  I'd as soon avoid your store steward since the whole idea is to not talk about working somewhere else in your store, at least until you know if its okay.

This other store sounds like you think it would be a better environment, so I'd go for it and leave Kroger if you run into a serious problem instead of fighting to say at Kroger, unless your Kroger somehow is paying enough/giving enough hours to make it worth your time.