Coronavirus: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Place most of staff on furlough - The Stratford Observer

Coronavirus: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Place most of staff on furlough

Stratford Editorial 9th Apr, 2020   0

THE SHAKESPEARE Birthplace Trust is placing most of its staff on temporary leave under the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

A total of 221 members of staff will be furloughed in a bid to cut costs and protect jobs against the impact of the outbreak.

It means they will be paid 80 per cent of their salary up to £2,500 a month by government while remaining employed by the trust.

The charity – which cares for Shakespeare’s five family homes in and around Stratford – has 28 staff not covered by the scheme who will be undertaking a consultation process.




A small number of employees will continue to work from home to ensure the running of the business.

Chief executive Tim Cooke said: “Alongside many museums, heritage and cultural organisations we face significant financial pressures while our doors remain closed to visitors. As an independent charity which generates 98 per cent of its own income, those pressures are especially keen. We are acting now to secure a long-term footing on which we can build as soon as possible.


“I would like to thank all of our staff and volunteers for their commitment to advancing our charitable purposes, and for the resilience and creativity they have shown in adapting to this unprecedented situation.

“We are also hugely grateful to those who have made a donation to help the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust carry on in these uncertain times. We need that support more than ever. Our charity has been around since 1847, weathering and surviving all manner of storms and circumstance. I have no doubt we shall do the same again.”

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