Edinburgh's St Giles' Cathedral makes shop staff and volunteers redundant after calling in consultants
‘It's a Christian organisation and there's no way that they should treat people the way they have’ - former employee
Employees have expressed their hurt and anger after being told all staff and volunteers in the shop at St Giles’ Cathedral - some of whom have worked there for more than two decades - have been made redundant.
Around 20 people are understood to be affected by the move, which the cathedral in Edinburgh’s Old Town says is part of a restructuring to improve the visitor experience.
St Giles' minister the Rev Dr Scott Rennie said that following the advice of retail consultants who work with a number of top Scottish and UK visitor attractions, the cathedral had decided to merge its tour guide and retail operations.
The two existing paid guides and the volunteer guides are to be kept on, but the five paid shop staff have been made redundant and the shop volunteers, understood to number around 14, have been told they are no longer needed.
Dr Rennie said in future there would be a total of seven "visitor engagement assistants" who would welcome visitors, give tours, might give talks on particular topics, and work in the shop.
“We’ll still need our volunteer guides because we find that people really appreciate having that volunteer connection when they come to visit.”
One of the shop workers, who did not want to be named, said they had been warned on May 4 they could be facing redundancy and 10 days later it was confirmed at a staff meeting, on Thursday last week, that they were losing their jobs.
The employee said: "It was a kick in the teeth. There are five paid staff and there’s about 14 volunteers. The shop manager and another member of staff have been there 16 years. One of the volunteers has been there for 20 years. Just to be told 'Thanks, but that's it' - it's not right.
“They just want rid of us all. I don't know why, because we do a good job. It's galling and it's hurtful. People have given their all to it. The shop makes a lot of money for the upkeep of the cathedral. Last year it made about £250,000.
“I've thoroughly enjoyed all the time I've been there, but this doesn’t show the church in a very good light.
“Staff in the shop are very angry and hurt at the way we've been treated. It's a Christian organisation and there's no way that they should treat people the way they have. At the end of the day it's the reputation of St Giles’ Cathedral, the High Church of Edinburgh, that's at stake.”
She said staff were receiving a month's pay in lieu of notice, their legal redundancy entitlement and a £100 "goodwill gesture".
She said they had been told they could apply for the new posts but these were for 32 hours a week, which was more than any of the shop staff had been working.
The shop is now closed so it can be relocated to the west end of the cathedral, where visitors exit the building. It is due to reopen in mid-July.
Dr Rennie said: "St Giles’ Cathedral is in the process of upgrading its visitor experience with a new approach to the visitor experience and retail. Following the advice of retail consultants who work with a number of top Scottish and UK Visitor attractions, the cathedral has decided to merge their visitor experience and retail operations.
“The new emphasis on retail at St Giles' will be on storytelling and giving people an opportunity to take something home with them to remember their visit to Scotland’s High Kirk.
“Staff will work across the cathedral’s welcome, tour and retail operations rather than having separate staff working in each separately. This change has sadly meant the need for redundancies among some current employees. However there will be new openings for visitor engagement assistants who will work across the cathedral welcoming people to Scotland’s High Kirk and sharing the story of Scotland, its people and its faith.
“I regret the fact it means change for people and I understand how difficult that is, especially if you’re losing the role you’ve had and enjoyed. But we have an obligation to always be looking to improve our visitor experience for people and sometimes that necessitates change at the workplace. That’s true of anywhere really and in that sense a church is not really any different. I understand it’s hard for people, I feel for them personally.”
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