National Trust confirms 1,300 job cuts as it’s hit by lockdown site closures
THE National Trust has confirmed nearly 1,300 jobs will be axed because of the impact of the coronavirus crisis.
The charity said in July that it planned on making cuts after losing £200million during the pandemic.
It had expected to make 1,200 compulsory redundancies but has reduced this number to 514.
A further 782 of the jobs losses are through voluntary redundancies.
Today's figures are in addition to the 162 jobs which were cut in August after £124million of projects were halted or pushed back.
It brings the total total job losses at the National Trust, which employs 9,500 staff, to 1,458.
What are my redundancy rights?
BEFORE making you unemployed, your employer should still carry out a fair redundancy process.
You are entitled to be consulted on the redundancy lay-off first and to receive a statutory redundancy payment, as long as you've been working somewhere for at least two years.
How much you're entitled to depends on your age and length of service, although this is capped at 20 years. You'll get:
- Half a week’s pay for each full year you were under 22,
- One week’s pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41,
- One and half week’s pay for each full year you were 41 or older.
Sadly, you won't be entitled to a payout if you've been working for your employer for fewer than two years.
There should be a period of collective consultation as well as time for individual ones if your employer wants to make 20 or more employees redundant within 90 days or each other.
You are also entitled to appeal the decision by claiming unfair dismissal within three months of being let go.
The cuts will save the organisation £100million a year after the number of people visiting its properties plummeted because of coronavirus restrictions.
That includes £41million in annual savings from cutting other business costs, such as reducing travel, office costs and cutting marketing spend.
And the trust said it expects to make a further round of redundancies in the new year which will affect a smaller group of staff mainly in back-office teams like finance, legal and HR.
The coronavirus crisis hit almost every avenue of income for the conservation and heritage charity, which has 5.6 million members.
Houses, gardens, car parks, shops and cafes were all closed in March and holiday celebrations and events were cancelled in the year it celebrates its 125th anniversary.
Since reopening in May, more than 5million people have visited National Trust properties.
National Trust director general Hilary McGrady said: “It’s with deep sadness that we have to make redundancies."
She added: "I certainly don’t want to stop any of the extraordinary work done by the people of the National Trust.
"I want to thank everyone who has been involved – especially those
whose jobs have been affected and the members and volunteers who care so passionately about the Trust.
“In making these changes now, I am confident we will be well-placed to face the challenges ahead, protecting the places that visitors love and nature needs, and ensuring our conservation work continues long into the future."
It's the latest business to shed some of its workforce because of the coronavirus crisis.
Most read in Money
This week, Cineworld confirmed plans to temporarily close all 127 of its UK cinemas, affecting 5,500 employees.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Greene King is planning to close 79 pubs and restaurants in a move its blamed on the government's 10pm curfew.
There's a ray of hope for jobseekers as new figures show the number of vacancies increased in September for the first time since February.