Support Fund for Sussex Uni Frontline Workers
Donation protected
UPDATE: All staff have been furloughed. All Funds will be distributed to staff as a thankyou from the whole community at Sussex who they have and continue to work so hard for. We have paused allowing donations so as to not fall foul of trust law.
On 17 November, Chartwells will make 70% of catering staff at the University of Sussex redundant.
They have worked without sick pay to cook food and deliver it to hundreds of students who are sick or self-isolating at the University. Now these frontline workers are being forced into poverty during a national lockdown just before Christmas.
Unions, staff, students and local MPs have pointed out that the government has extended the furlough, so there is no good financial reason for these jobs to be lost. The response from the University has been to pass the buck to Chartwells. The response from Chartwells has been silence. Affected staff have been informed that they will lose their jobs - not because Chartwells is ineligible for the scheme, but because it does not wish to pay the NI and pension costs involved with furlough.
The parent company of Chartwells, Compass Group, made an operating profit of £1.6 billion last year. They have already reported a mid-year operating profit of £165 million for 2020-21 for Europe alone. Compass has £5 billion liquidity and with ‘contract negotiations’ and ‘relentless focus on efficiencies’ expect to make a 3% operating margin for the last quarter of the year.
We estimate it will cost just £2,496 per week to pay the NI and pension contributions for the 39 Chartwells staff who will be made redundant. We aim to raise £14,976, which is the amount it will cost to furlough these staff between 17 November and 31 December.
We are raising this money to show that it is easily within the budget of Chartwells and the University of Sussex. If each person at the University gives £10 or more in support, we will have more than 10 times the cost of furloughing all catering staff.
We will give all the funds to Chartwells’ workers who are made redundant. If the redundancies don't happen then the funds will be divided between all catering staff. It is one way for us to show solidarity. We want to take care of them in the same way they have taken care of us.
If skint students and hard-pressed staff can raise the money, while the University and its key partner do nothing, it will be a total betrayal of the values of equity and kindness which Sussex claims to espouse.
On 17 November, Chartwells will make 70% of catering staff at the University of Sussex redundant.
They have worked without sick pay to cook food and deliver it to hundreds of students who are sick or self-isolating at the University. Now these frontline workers are being forced into poverty during a national lockdown just before Christmas.
Unions, staff, students and local MPs have pointed out that the government has extended the furlough, so there is no good financial reason for these jobs to be lost. The response from the University has been to pass the buck to Chartwells. The response from Chartwells has been silence. Affected staff have been informed that they will lose their jobs - not because Chartwells is ineligible for the scheme, but because it does not wish to pay the NI and pension costs involved with furlough.
The parent company of Chartwells, Compass Group, made an operating profit of £1.6 billion last year. They have already reported a mid-year operating profit of £165 million for 2020-21 for Europe alone. Compass has £5 billion liquidity and with ‘contract negotiations’ and ‘relentless focus on efficiencies’ expect to make a 3% operating margin for the last quarter of the year.
We estimate it will cost just £2,496 per week to pay the NI and pension contributions for the 39 Chartwells staff who will be made redundant. We aim to raise £14,976, which is the amount it will cost to furlough these staff between 17 November and 31 December.
We are raising this money to show that it is easily within the budget of Chartwells and the University of Sussex. If each person at the University gives £10 or more in support, we will have more than 10 times the cost of furloughing all catering staff.
We will give all the funds to Chartwells’ workers who are made redundant. If the redundancies don't happen then the funds will be divided between all catering staff. It is one way for us to show solidarity. We want to take care of them in the same way they have taken care of us.
If skint students and hard-pressed staff can raise the money, while the University and its key partner do nothing, it will be a total betrayal of the values of equity and kindness which Sussex claims to espouse.
Organizer and beneficiary
Max O'Donnell-Savage
Organizer
Rob Fidler
Beneficiary
