NIONS PREDICTED Staff furious after firm Rise in crisis reneges on notice pay grants ‘alarming’

STAFF who were employed by a call centre which was stripped of a government Covid-19 contract over alleged social distancing breaches are furious that bosses have have reneged on an agreement to pay workers notice.

AGO Outsourcing, based in East Kilbride, was sub-contracted by Serco on behalf of the UK government to support those shielding down south and assist with medicine and food deliveries.

However, the firm lost its contract with the 200 National Shielding Helpline after pictures emerged which appeared to show staff sitting less than two metres apart.

One former employee says that when staff were told they were losing their jobs, the company pledged to give workers a “goodwill” notice period of two weekends full pay and claims he is owned £400.

An email seen by the Glasgow Times from Steven Joseph, Chief Operations Manager, says staff will receive their “final salary for any hours worked, holidays accrued and any notice applicable”.

However, in a subsequent message to staff Mr Joseph tell employees they will not receive a notice payment.

It reads: “Unfortunately the client cancelled the contract with immediate effect and we did not receive any notice period, therefore we cannot (give) employees the intended notice.”

One staff member said: “In a variety of communications by the company, including the HR Manager and Senior Operations Manager, we were promised full pay for two weekends of work due to the abrupt nature of the termination.

“When we were issued with our payslips none of that was reflected.

“”We have not received this pay and have now been told, after I made a direct communication, that we will not receive it.

“Not only has there been a complete disregard to the safety of their workers amidst a worldwide pandemic, they are now trying to dodge paying their employees what we are due.

“The contract was advertised as a minimum of 12 weeks and now people are unlikely to have received any more than two weeks pay.”

The Glasgow Times contacted AGO Outsourcing and was told to send our questions to Mr Joseph via email. However he did not respond.

Call centre employees are said to have been asked to sign a disclaimer if they got sick, absolving the company of any blame.

An insider claimed “multiple people” had complained about working conditions, but many signed the waiver because they needed cash.

However, boss Stephen Rafferty said the letter had been penned after legal advice and was in accordance with Scottish Government working guidelines.

The firm is jointly owned by Kris McGenily and has previously been contracted on behalf of Scottish Power.

THERE has been an “alarming” surge in the number of emergency crisis grants being handed out during the coronavirus crisis, poverty charities have warned.

More than £2.4million was given in crisis grants to help people in poverty from the Scottish Welfare Fund last month, a 154% increase on the previous year.

The fund received 33,106 applications for grants, its highest number and an 88% rise on April 2019, with charities urging the Scottish Government to ensure there is adequate investment in the emergency fund.

A Menu for Change, a partnership between Oxfam Scotland, Nourish Scotland, the Poverty Alliance and the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, has also issued a plea to both the UK and Scottish Governments about welfare policies to help those on low incomes.

It is calling for the UK Government to end the five-week wait for Universal Credit, increase child benefit and scrap the two-child limit.