Wimbledon has been accused of sacking temporary staff for “strange” reasons after overestimating the numbers needed.
Several people working temporarily in hospitality and housekeeping are believed to have suddenly lost their jobs for reasons such as going to the toilet without asking.
At least three temporary workers are said to have lost their jobs for sitting on the hill with a drink after their shift ended.
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A 19-year-old student working as part of the housekeeping team said they were at first “confused” to get their shifts as they were relatively well paid.
“But we worked on Wednesday and during my lunch break [friend] they sat on the hill and ate strawberries,” they said. “Next thing, he gets an email saying he’s not getting any more shifts. Now we’re literally all scrambling to do anything on our breaks or even sit on the hill after we’re done in case we’re told there won’t be any more shifts for us. The whole thing is strange.
Another temporary worker called the situation a “chamber,” saying: “I think it reflects the management here. They are firing people left, right and centre. They’re actually overworked and said there aren’t enough fans here – not what they expected – so they have to lay people off.
“People get fired because they’re overworked and use the fact that employees are watching tennis and drinking as an excuse.”
An email sent by a contractor to its staff has confirmed that the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) is looking to reduce its staff. “As you may have noticed, visitor numbers have been lower than expected, for this reason the AELTC has asked us to consider reducing our day staff numbers,” it said.
The number of visitors to Wimbledon is slightly lower than expected. Although the capacity is 42,000 per day, the total may be higher than that when ticket resales are included. There were about 38,500 fans on Wednesday and Thursday. The highest attendance was 46,826 in 2009.
A spokesman for the AELTC said: “We appreciate all the staff who help us run the Championships, they are crucial to putting on this world-class event.
“We meet annually with each of our prime contractors to agree terms of employment, which are shared with all potential employees. We are delighted that many of our staff choose to return to work at Wimbledon year after year and help us put on an amazing event.”
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