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At least they waited until after Christmas to play Scrooge but the powers-that-be at British bookmaker BetFred.com have announced employees will soon have to endure a 50 percent cut in their salaries.
Furious staff say they will lose thousands of pounds a year under planned changes to their pay.
Betfred officials cite actions that may need to be taken to curb controversial high stakes betting terminals. Prime Minister David Cameron’s comments on the fixed-odds machines resulted in huge drops in share prices for both Ladbrokes and William Hill on Thursday. Figures show punters are spending nearly £500million more this year on the terminals dubbed gambling’s “crack cocaine” than in 2009.
Betfred founders, brothers Fred and Peter Done, have amassed an £850million fortune since starting the company. They advised staff that the proposed changes will “ensure fairness and transparency”.
The Mirror claimed Thursday it was provided with documents that suggest BetFred.com will fire those who refuse to go along with the massive salary cut.
Insiders say that shop managers who earn around £15 an hour could see that drop to £9 or less outside London.
The reaction from BetFred staff a la The Mirror:
One manager said: “If this goes through I will have to sell my house because I won’t be able to afford the mortgage any longer.”
Another said: “I could be losing £8,000 to £10,000 a year, depending on what happens with my overtime.”
A Twitter account was even begun by one angry individual (photo graphic above courtesy of that Twitter account)
BetFred made headlines for all the wrong reasons in August 2012 after first refusing to pay out on an Olympic bet placed by the grandmother of Olympic gymnast Sam Oldham. Eventually BetFred bowed to pressure when websites like Gambling911.com and London tabloids published granny Linda Aldred’s plight.
Not before paying her with a bad check though but eventually she was made whole.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
