50 jobs go in Gurnard Pines crisis

By Martin Neville

Thursday, November 1, 2012

 

UPDATED THURSDAY 10:54*

AROUND 50 jobs have been lost at Gurnard Pines Holiday Centre.

Shocked staff were last night (Wednesday) told they were being made redundant on the orders of the business's funders.

The pool complex, gym, cafe and main building were in darkness but the self-catering units at the centre near Cowes on the Isle of Wight, were full of half-term holidaymakers.

One staff member told the County Press: "We were told at 5pm that we were all being made redundant and the business was shutting. The units are packed with people on holiday.

"It is a massive shock."

A spokesman for Portsmouth-based Rothmans Corporate Recovery said funders had ordered the redundancies but said the business was not yet in liquidation.

This morning (Thursday) Terry Prosser, of London-based Terry Prosser Accounting Solutions and a director of Gurnard Pines Holiday Village Ltd, said in a statement: "Gurnard Pines has been taken over by Gurnard Pines Holiday Village Limited on 31 October 2012.

"The holiday village is open for business as usual and I would like to assure anyone that had booked a holiday that their reservation will be honoured.

"We would like to say sorry to anyone that was inconvenienced for the facilities closing two hours earlier than normal on Wednesday evening so that the previous operator could have a full staff meeting but can confirm that facilities were re-opened the following morning.

"We have spent a long time working alongside the landlord and funders and believe we have a rescue package suitable to keep the doors open to keep the transition seamless to our owners, members and holidaymakers.

"I am confident that under the supervision of our new management structure the business will perform and will be looking to improve the facilities in due course.

"Gurnard Pines is a unique holiday destination and I would like to state that we are looking to the long term future and hope that anyone that stays there will recommend us to their friends."

But one staff member said thay had not been given any update about the situation and they had been told not to come into work today.

*Following enquiries by the County Press this morning (Thursday) Mr Prosser added: "Unfortunately I cannot comment on the previous employees as we are a new company and I would prefer to look forwards and build on Gurnard Pines previous good record for providing great accomodation and holidays.  

"As a new operator we obviously now need to focus on employing key personnel.

"We already have a small team to manage the facilities and we have all pulled together to limit the disruption to our guests to just closing the gym and pool for one night. 

"We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused, but as you can imagine the old operator had to have a full staff meeting to break the news to staff of the descision that was made that day.

"All facilities are open this morning, the bar is open, the gym is open, the pool is open, existing functions, weddings etc will be honoured."

Reporter: martinn@iwcp.co.uk

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by M Naylor of WightSave.com

2nd November 2012, at 08:15:19

The employees could possibly seek advice from Community Legal Advice - a free service from Legal Aid. Call 0845 345 4 345 or visit https://claonlineadvice.justice.gov.uk.
It would also be worth them checking if they have legal cover on their household insurance or other insurance that may include employment cases. Or as someone else suggested unions may also offer legal advice. Perhaps as a group the employees could get specialist legal advice and help from an island based company.

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by Alan Bennett

1st November 2012, at 23:10:18

This thread is only to help and advise those employees of Gurnard Pines;
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1655
TUPE is very complex, for example, if the take over is by shares.

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by M Naylor of WightSave.com

1st November 2012, at 17:52:28

Of course it’s good news that Gurnard Pines is continuing to trade, but devastating for the existing staff who have lost their jobs especially at such short notice.

Unfortunately in these difficult financial times many companies are going out of business. One way to protect yourself when paying for goods and services that cost more than £100 and not more than £30,000 is to pay by Credit Card. If there is a breach of contract or misrepresentation, for example, the company goes out of business or goods aren’t as described, you can claim your money back from the credit card company. You get similar protection on debit cards called chargeback. But it’s much safer to pay by credit card if possible as this is a legal right under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. You are also covered for the full purchase price if you have paid a deposit on a credit card of less than £100 for goods or services costing more than £100.

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by John Rosenthal

1st November 2012, at 17:23:03

This would be the same Terry Prosser that holds approx "90" positions as a company secretary or company director for various companies, most with a poor credit rating, reliable, hopefully for the staff but time will tell.

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by Taviour Lawrence

1st November 2012, at 14:56:15

As it is a new company running it TUPE does not apply. The new company will have no responsibility for the staff wages, staff redundancy or re-employment or the debts run up by the previous company. It happens all the time and until the law changes people will continue to do this time and time again.

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by Rob Allen

1st November 2012, at 14:50:15

This all sounds dodgy to me staff being made redundant 1 day then the next it reopens with new staff? TUPE should still stand as the old jobs are still there so the continuation of employment whoever owns it should continue. It is the same business, in the same buildings & probably same membership arrangements for the gym/pool. You do not have to be in a union for TUPE to happen & it always was illegal to make someone redundant then re-employ someone to that post within 6 months.

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by Sarah Smith

1st November 2012, at 12:54:53

I'm sorry for the pleasant, hardworking staff who have lost their jobs. I like the pool, would come more often if I could guarantee a decent swim. New management - listen up. Webcams so that members can see when to arrive to avoid crowds; up the standards of membership, ban anyone who leaves body waste or other unpleasant things behind or who hogs the cubicles by leaving their kit in there when they are not actually changing; have some evening slots reserved for year-round members only.

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by Alan Bennett

1st November 2012, at 12:14:06

The saddest thing about this is that the employees were told with hours notice. Management must have known it was on the cards for some time.

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by Alan Bennett

1st November 2012, at 12:11:56

You can't just quote 'tupe' at people. The employees needed to be in a recognised union that is in turn recognised by the employer, for transfer to be obligatory.

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by Peter Lewis

1st November 2012, at 11:43:54

Shame as I have stayed there a couple of times. Will not be booking now, so there's another business finished off then. Always the staff that suffer ...

Any views or opinions presented in the comments above are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the Isle of Wight County Press.

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