The Royal Shakespeare Company’s HR team has set up a telephone advice
service to help staff deal with the organisation’s restructuring. Staff can
access a free 24-hour confidential advice line for career advice from
independent qualified counsellors.
Around 135 technical and administrative posts will be lost as a result of
restructuring by the RSC. In Stratford, 50 of the 500 jobs will go, along with
85 in London. The cuts will be implemented from October.
Rachael Whitteridge, head of HR at the RSC, said, "Redundancy is never
easy or pleasant, but it is a process we have to go through."
The RSC is ending its permanent arrangement with the Barbican theatre in
London and plans to perform in a wider variety of venues. In Stratford, a
number of smaller companies will run performances throughout the year replacing
two distinct seasons.
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The RSC has begun a period of consultation with staff. Whitteridge said,
"We may widen the pool so that there’s an opportunity for people who are
in departments that aren’t affected, to take voluntary redundancy so people in
affected departments can move across."
Gerry Morrissey, assistant general secretary of broadcasting, theatre and
entertainment union Bectu, said, "We will fight any redundancies with
every weapon at our disposal."
