Lowry proposes support for all contracted staff until it can re-open

The CEO of The Lowry in Salford has unveiled a proposal to support all of it’s contracted staff until the arts centre can re-open.

In a video message to employees last Monday, Julia Fawcett OBE vowed to fight for every job while simultaneously dealing with the biggest financial crisis in the art sector’s history.

With the doors closed to the public for over three months, and box office income effectively stopping overnight, the Lowry is currently operating with a skeleton staff.

The Lowry has been one of the few organisations that have maintained full salary payments for contracted staff since March – voluntarily topping up the Government contributions.

Outlining her plan to launch a Lowry-funded job retention scheme from 1 November (when the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme closes on 31 October) Fawcett pledged that staff would be back in-post ‘as soon as possible’.

.@The_Lowry receives only 5.5% statutory public funding annually, has >850,000 visitors a year, generates >£30m GVA for the local economy & employs 250 people + 500 jobs through its supply chain. It’s critical that government support such vital venue-based cultural institutions. https://t.co/QZRzmVxsTi

— SalfordMayor (@salford_mayor) June 30, 2020

She said: “Government needs to act, as it stands today there is no plan for the arts sector following the end of the JRS.

“We will do what we can to support our staff through the introduction of a Lowry Retention scheme – but this will in no way match the scale of the Chancellor’s scheme.”

The Lowry has some 222 full-time-equivalent contracted staff with whom it is now in formal consultation with over the proposal, which also includes staff maintaining continuity of service, employee benefits and pension contributions.

The centre’s 300-strong volunteer programme remains paused.

Casual staff working in the venue’s catering, box office and front of house departments will remain on furlough until 31 October, with The Lowry introducing top-up payments in August as the Government contribution tapers to maintain casual staff on 80% of their average annual weekly wage.