The Stage

Employment tribunal awards thousands in back pay to Derby Playhouse staff

Published Friday 11 July 2008 at 17:50 by Alistair Smith

Seventy-five former staff at the Derby Playhouse are in line for tens of thousands of pounds of back pay, after an employment tribunal ruled in their favour.

Bectu had taken the case to tribunal on behalf of the theatre staff, claiming that the union had not been properly consulted when the venue’s former board decided to close the Playhouse last year and make redundancies.

Lynne Korniak said: “We’re pleased that the case has been successful and that our members stand to secure some compensation for the employer’s failure to consult - what is also clear is if consultation had taken place, Bectu could have assisted management’s efforts to keep the theatre open at that time.”

The tribunal decided on the maximum possible ‘protective award’ to the staff, which means that each will be able to claim back an equivalent of 90 days’ pay.

But because the Playhouse is currently in administration, staff will have to apply to the government’s Redundancy Payment Office in order to claim back the thousands of pounds that they are now owed.

Ruling on a separate claim, the tribunal also found that four Bectu members had been unfairly dismissed, although none were awarded compensation.

“What we got was that the dismissals had been unfair, but they made no award of compensation,” Korniak explained. “This was because of the financial situation the theatre is currently in.”

Had the four staff been awarded compensation they would have had to have claimed it back as a creditor of the Derby Playhouse via the administrators.

The theatre’s former senior team, including artistic director Stephen Edwards and chief executive Karen Hebden, is working on a business plan which it will present to administrators later this month in a bid to reopen the venue.