St Giles Centre closure sees dedicated team in action to help deal with human cost
January 8 was a day a huge bombshell dropped on Moray - stunned staff and members of the public learned that the St Giles Centre in Elgin was to shut its doors for the last time in just 12 days.
The only shopping centre in the region, which was opened back in 1991, collapsed under the weight of what is believed to be £750,000 of unpaid non-domestic rates which Moray Council are taking legal action to recover.
However, as always, the real cost was the human one, in this case potentially up to 100 people being forced to look for a new job in less than a fortnight.
As people struggled to process the news of the closure, a locally-based taskforce under the banner of PACE - the Scottish Government’s Partnership Action for Continuing Employment - rapidly swung into action to help those affected assess their options and find new employment.
One of the agencies involved with the PACE group is the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Heavily involved in the response since the news of the closure broke is DWP Employer and Partnership Manager Jane Munro, who is based at Forres Jobcentre.
The way the St Giles closure unfolded presented something of a different challenge for the PACE team, as Mrs Munro explained.
“Under normal circumstances, employers notify redundancies through DWP and PACE, and we make contact directly with the employer to undertake employee presentations to support them through the process.
“This has been slightly different because of the way it happened and obviously the businesses at the time didn't know what their individual situations were going to be. So as a PACE group of partners, we agreed that we would provide a presence in the centre and the centre manager allowed us to use one of the units downstairs.
“Across the mornings of Tuesday to Friday [January 14-17] we had a range of different partners there to support the businesses and employees. PACE chair Nina Crocombe was there for the week and we had representation from DWP, Moray Pathways, Business Gateway and UHI Moray to speak to anyone who came through the door.
“On the first morning we were there myself and Moray Pathways visited all the employers and spoke to everybody to determine the individual situations. In some instances, we were able to speak to managers just to find out if they knew any more or had any updates for us and what the situation was likely to be for their staff, if no manager was available, then it was a case of letting staff know that we were available to offer guidance and support in the downstairs unit.
“The businesses just didn’t know what the situation was going to be - were there likely to be redundancies, reduced hours contracts or would they continue paying staff until decisions were made - no one knew. The national companies like WH Smith, the O2 shop and EE shop were all waiting to hear from their head offices to determine the local situation.”
During the week there was a brisk demand for the advice on offer, with between 20 and 30 people popping in to see the team. This included not just the various options available regarding benefits and how to claim them, but how to access training opportunities and highlighting the vacancies which are currently available in Moray in a variety of different sectors.
It was also a chance to signpost people to other agencies which may be able to assist them depending on their individual circumstances.
Mrs Munro continued: “This week [January 20-24] we have ensured support was available in Moray Pathways hub every day in case anyone from St Giles wanted to drop in and speak to us once they've had time to think and required more advice.
“The suddenness of the centre closure and the scale to the potential job losses in what is a smaller town like Elgin had a huge affect on those involved.
“People were very upset, it was all so sudden.
“When you’re in that situation you just don’t know what’s happened, you’re thinking ‘What am I going to do now?’. We are here to help with all of that.
“With three Jobcentres in Moray, the DWP are able to deal with benefits claims, although this is likely to be a staggered process as people who get laid off/made redundant will receive their final pay packets at different times depending on their wage cycles and I would advise anyone wanting to make a claim to visit www.gov.uk for New Style Jobseekers Allowance and Universal Credit.”
However, it is not all doom and gloom.
Mrs Munro said: “[Centre staff] have been in employment for a number of years and they will have the experience and relevant transferable skills to move into other jobs.
“Some people will move on very quickly into other jobs through word of mouth.
As a PACE partnership, we are there to support the employees whether that’s through promoting vacancies and helping people apply, or considering other options such as training opportunities. Through the Moray SWAP programme we can offer training in different sectors, for example, UHI Moray will be delivering a construction course week commencing February 3 and a customer service course on week commencing March 3. Please just speak to us about what support you require.
“Other opportunities come about when least expected; one person I spoke to is now considering expansion of their self-employed business, and this situation has given them the push to move forward and other people will have different avenues they want to explore, too”.
Ms Crocombe added: “For people facing redundancy, it can be a very challenging time, and the closure of the St Giles Centre has unfortunately affected some people’s employment.
“The Moray PACE Partnership have worked together to deliver support quickly to those affected. We’ve already seen people secure new employment opportunities which is really positive.
“Anyone who requires support dealing with redundancy can call the PACE helpline on 0800 917 8000 or visit redundancyscotland.co.uk”
Staff who have been or are set to be made redundant due to the St Giles Centre closure can contact the Moray PACE group my emailing Ms Crocombe on nina.crocombe@sds.co.uk, phoning (01343) 344053. For more information on dealing with redundancy in general, call PACE on 0800 917 8000 or visit www.redundancyscotland.co.uk
