Harrogate council chief executive set for £101,000 redundancy pay-out

Harrogate Borough Council chief executive Wallace Sampson is in line for a £101,274 redundancy package when the local authority is abolished at the end of March.

Mr Sampson looks set to receive a contractual redundancy payment of £71,633 plus £29,641 for a 12-week notice period he will not have to work.

Harrogate Borough Council is one of seven district councils which, along with North Yorkshire County Council, will cease to exist on April 1, when the new North Yorkshire Council takes over.

Harrogate Borough Council’s council’s chief officer employment committee has been recommended to approve the settlement when it meets next week.

A report to the committee says Mr Sampson, who joined the council in 2008 and is a member of the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers union, will be “effectively stranded” by the council’s abolition.

It says he is contractually entitled to be paid for his notice period, but there will be no role for him to perform due to the council’s abolition.

The report also says lawyers Browne Jacobson have advised Mr Sampson is entitled to be transferred under TUPE regulations and to dismiss him before March 31 would “inevitably lead to an automatically unfair dismissal claim causing unnecessary conflict, impact on senior officer time and a waste of public funds as explained in the appended business case”.

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It is therefore recommended Mr Sampson be paid in lieu for his 12-week notice period:

The report says:

“In short, the proposal in the report recognises this and is a practical and pragmatic solution.”

All the district council leaders in North Yorkshire will lose their jobs at the end of March, in a move that it is claimed will save about £1m a year.

Richard Flinton, the current chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, will become chief executive of North Yorkshire Council on a salary of between £180,000 and £197,000

The report says:

“The proposed settlement is considered to represent value for money by ensuring that the chief executive remains in office and engaged to enable the council to continue to deliver its services until 31 March 2023; that there is a smooth transition to the new authority; and contractual and statutory payments to the chief executive are paid to him as a result of the termination of his employment on the grounds of redundancy.”

 

11 Welcome to Yorkshire staff made redundant

Nearly half of the total number of staff at Welcome to Yorkshire have been made redundant after the organisation was placed into administration.

Rob Adamson, Michael Kienlen and Daryl Warwick of Armstrong Watson LLP were appointed joint administrators of the troubled tourism body earlier this month.

The move followed “increasingly challenging” financial circumstances for Welcome to Yorkshire, which faced “a task of securing sufficient funding”, according to chairman Sir Peter Box CBE.

In a statement, the administrators said that 11 staff had now been made redundant with 12 retained.

The statement added:

“Welcome to Yorkshire had a number of ongoing projects at the time it was placed into administration.

“The joint administrators are currently engaging with the various stakeholders to determine whether these projects can continue in the short-term whilst they seek to establish whether a buyer can be sought for the business and assets.

“Whilst this process is ongoing, the business is operating using a reduced workforce. Regrettably 11 employees were made redundant on Tuesday with the remaining 12 members of staff currently being retained.

“The joint administrators are aware that Welcome to Yorkshire has a large membership base and the subscription position will be reviewed in the coming days. The joint administrators have been advised that all advance subscriptions were held separately by Welcome to Yorkshire. All relevant parties will be contacted in due course.

“Unfortunately a number of events that were due to take place in the coming weeks will now be cancelled – affected parties will be contacted as soon as possible.”

Controversy and cash flow problems

Administration followed a troubled few years for Welcome to Yorkshire.

In September, James Mason resigned as chief executive and the body had to approach local councils to help bail it out financially during the covid pandemic in 2020.

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Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council gave Welcome to Yorkshire £31,000 and £290,000 respectively to plug its £1.4 million funding gap.

The body also had to take out a £500,000 loan in September 2019 from North Yorkshire County Council to keep it afloat.

In March 2019 there was controversy when former boss, Sir Gary Verity, resigned on health grounds. He later faced allegations of bullying and inappropriately claiming expenses, which he denied.

Two inquiries carried out after Sir Gary’s resignation cost the tourism body £482,500.

Harrogate theatre chair on the panto, scaffolding and being ‘cautiously optimistic’

Cancelled shows and a huge roof renovation have made the last 18 months “very difficult” for Harrogate Theatres but the chair says it is going into 2022 “cautiously optimistic”.

Knaresborough-born Deborah Larwood, who has been visiting the theatre for years, worked in the arts sector for over a decade before she took a seat on the board four years ago. She then became chair in December 2019.

Harrogate Theatres is a charity that hosts events at Harrogate Theatre, Royal Hall and Harrogate Convention Centre.

Its biggest challenge during the pandemic has been generating enough income to cover costs whilst being unable to get on stage.

It has held online workshops, socially distanced theatre and launched its HT Together fundraising campaign.

Ms Larwood said initiatives like these and grants from the likes of Arts Council England have been crucial to the theatre’s survival and allowed it to plan for upcoming events.

Cinderella ends today

The biggest event for the theatre each year is its annual pantomime. As Cinderella comes to a close today, after running since November, Ms Larwood said she was pleased with its success although it is unclear how well tickets sold compared with previous years. She said:

“People’s habits have changed during the pandemic and some of our usual audience members still aren’t comfortable in the auditorium. We still had huge success in terms of ticket sales, but it was different especially with some schools choosing to cancel their trip.

“When we lost the panto in 2020 it was a significant worry because we rely so heavily on that revenue we earn.”

Some of the cast of this year’s pantomime, Cinderella. Photograph: Karl Andre

She added tickets for this year’s pantomime, Aladdin, are already selling with a number of schools also choosing to book.

Roof completion date still set for March 

One of the biggest projects undertaken in the last 12 months has been the roof renovation. The project has been managed by Harrogate Borough Council, which owns the building.

Work began in May last year and with multiple setbacks due to covid and building materials it is now due to be completed by March.

Ms Larwood said workers on site were “determined” to stick to that date.

The theatre roof during works in June 2021.

The board has been trying to recruit new trustees. Last year, Ms Larwood, said multiple trustees came to the end of their tenure, which gave the opportunity to bring in new people and expertise.

She said:

“The pandemic allowed us to refocus and its exciting to hear from new people who are equally as passionate as us about the arts.”

So far the charity has added Fiona Hunt to its board but plans to speak to more potential new trustees after panto season.

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‘Necessary evil’ to make people redundant 

During the pandemic the theatre made staff redundant in an attempt to remain open. Ms Larwood said it was a “necessary evil”.

Long-term closures in 2020 and 2021 meant a big loss in revenue. Ms Larwood said despite the grants, cuts had to be made.

However, the charity hopes to start recruiting again this year. She said:

“We had terrible levels of redundancies but we had to make sure we made it through the other side. Recruitment will begin in earnest, but it’s all about striking a balance. We need people but we live in a time of rapid change and hiring too quickly is a big investment to lose.

“Our core team has been amazing throughout, doing the job of a team normally two or three times its size. It’s now time for us to bring in new people as we move into a busy year.”

CNG employees in ‘horrible situation’ regarding redundancy payouts

Employees of the collapsed Harrogate energy firm CNG have described the uncertainty over redundancy pay as a “horrible situation” with Christmas just around the corner.

About 100 staff and chief executive Paul Stanley discussed the insolvency programme at an online meeting yesterday

Two different CNG employees, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Stray Ferret that staff had hoped to receive clarification about redundancy pay but were left disappointed.

They said staff had previously been told they would be paid redundancy by the company but that this was withdrawn. They were then told it would be paid by the government, but at yesterday’s meeting, they were not given answers on when this will be and how much they will receive.

One employee said:

“This is a huge kick in the teeth for those who have stayed loyal to CNG for many years”.

Another employee described the atmosphere of the meeting as “cold”. They added:

“We were plainly made to feel like a nuisance”.

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CNG ceased trading two weeks ago due to spiralling wholesale gas prices but administrators are yet to be appointed.

According to CNG’s annual accounts from October 2020, the company had, at the time, £36.7m in cash reserves.

Questions were put to Mr Stanley at yesterday’s meeting about what had happened to this money. One employee said Mr Stanley “swiftly avoided the question”.

The Stray Ferret approached CNG for a response but we did not receive one at the time of publication.

COLUMN: What happens if your job is at risk after furlough

This article is written for the Stray Ferret by Harrogate employment lawyer Richard Port. Richard is Principal Solicitor and Founding Director at Boardside legal. In a series of articles, he explores the issues raised for employers and employees returning to work post furlough. This article is not legal advice – more a look at the complexities of the current situation. 

This week Richard looks at what to do if you lose your job: 

So, in recent weeks, I have written about necessary considerations for employees returning to work following the easing of lockdown. In this third article, we now look at the issue of restructurings and, sadly, the prospect of redundancies in the context of COVID-19.

Unfortunately, as the lockdown restrictions ease and employers slowly return to more ’normal’ ways of working, it is clear to us from instructions being received that the impact of the coronavirus means some businesses will have to seriously consider restructuring and the inevitable consequential risk of redundancies in order to survive.

The government’s furlough scheme has enabled employers to receive compensation from the government for certain employment costs. That scheme has been subject to amendment on a number of occasions, including by now allowing employers to take advantage of part-time furloughing. However, the scheme will end in its entirety on 31October 2020.

The fact that an employer has furloughed staff does not prevent that employer from dismissing employees on grounds of redundancy. However, the existence of the furlough scheme until 31 October means that employees could well challenge the need for redundancies. However, such a challenge may carry less force from 1 August from which date employers will be expected to shoulder more of the financial burden of the furlough scheme themselves.

Where a company is proposing redundancies in relation to any roles held by furloughed staff, it needs to ensure that the process is carried out fairly, thereby reducing the risk of tribunal litigation. Of course, such steps will include meaningful consultation, in line with legal obligations, taking into account staff may be working remotely.

In terms of consultation, it is clear from the guidance in relation to the furlough scheme that employee representatives can still act without being considered to be “working” but employers will be well advised to bear in mind the following:

These are hard times for everyone, but it is important that employers plan their restructuring processes carefully, to support employees as best they can thereby to reduce the risk of future litigation.

Redundancy exercises are stressful but, conducted sensitively with effective communication and proper consultation that take into account guidelines and measures to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, are key.

 

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