Chancellor urged to amend furlough rules for Tier 3 workers
Bectu has written to the Chancellor urging him to amend the Job Retention Scheme so that Tier 3 workers, many of whom now face redundancy a week before Christmas, are eligible for vital support.
Theatre workers answered the Culture Secretary’s call to deliver ‘Operation Sleeping Beauty’ and create some much needed Christmas magic this year. With London and the South East now joining much of the rest of the country in Tier 3, many of those who answered the call are now facing redundancy for the second time this year, and just one week before Christmas. To make matters worse, because lots of these workers were not employed on the 30th October cut-off date in the Job Retention Scheme, they are not eligible for furlough.
In an article for the Mail on Sunday in September, the Culture Secretary told of his plans for Operation Sleeping Beauty, writing that “There are people waiting in the wings to get full performances back on during the crucial Christmas period – and I want to support them.”
Theatre workers answered this call. Many of those who returned to the theatres had already been made redundant once and found new jobs in other industries. They quit these new jobs in order to return to the industry they love and deliver on the Government’s ambition to “bring back some of the magic of theatre for families this Christmas”.
Head of Bectu, Philippa Childs, said:
“Theatre workers answered the government’s call to deliver Christmas magic. When launching Operation Sleeping Beauty, Oliver Dowden said he wanted to support theatre workers, now they need the government to deliver on that promise.
“Bectu has written to the Chancellor urging him to amend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme so that workers whose workplace is closed due to a change in Tier status are eligible for furlough.”