Disabled workers at one of the UK's oldest charitable enterprises, Clarity, have allegedly been denied £200,000 in wages by the new owner
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- Published: Monday, 18 January 2021 14:04
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The company produces toiletries and beauty products under the Clarity, Beco and Soap Co brands. Actress Joanna Lumley and Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP have spoken out strongly over the claims. Nicholas Marks, who bought the company last year, says all currently employed staff have been paid. Community, the union which represents Clarity's workers, claims that a number of disabled employees at the firm have not been paid wages and furlough payments.
Stephen Steppens, 60, has been blind since birth, and has worked at Clarity since 1985. He is officially on furlough until his redundancy is completed at the end of January.
He says he has received no money since September and has been relying on his savings to get by.
"I loved it," he says of working there. Losing the job, and the fight over the organisation's future, have taken a toll on his mental health, he says.
"I want to see justice done, not just for me, but also for my friends who are visiting food ban
A number of employees have brought successful employment tribunal claims for unauthorised deduction of wages against Clarity, including Mr Steppens. Clarity was ordered to pay him £706. A number of other employment tribunal claims are ongoing, according to Community.
Joanna Lumley, who had been a supporter of Clarity, called it "the best of the best" and said she was "shocked" to learn of the allegations over treatment of workers. "Justice must be done as soon as possible," she told BBC News.
Clarity was founded in 1854 by a wealthy blind woman, Elizabeth Gilbert, as the Association for Promoting the General Welfare of the Blind, to provide opportunities for workers whom other employers overlooked because of their disabilities. Before the takeover, three-quarters of its staff were disabled
