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Former National Gallery workers to appear in employment tribunal

The hearing will decide whether the 27 art practitioners should be considered workers or self-employed

FORMER National Gallery staff members will have their demands for their rights as workers heard in an employment tribunal, it was revealed yesterday.

The hearing on Monday will determine whether the 27 art practitioners who have worked at the National Gallery for decades are legally considered workers or self-employed.

The staff, who delivered talks, courses and workshops to the gallery’s visitors on a daily basis, were dismissed in October 2017 with no prior warning.

Management insists that they were self-employed, meaning they have no rights to workplace benefits or any consultation about their jobs being scrapped. But the former workers pointed out that they worked with regularity for the gallery, were on its payroll, and had to attend staff training events and workplace appraisals.

As a form of compromise, the National Gallery has offered the group just eight permanent contracts, and on a reduced salary.

However, the group rejected this offer and launched a justice campaign after their first preliminary tribunal in July this year.

The case is likely to have an impact on other ongoing legal battles against precarious employment, such as the struggle for employment rights recognition among “self-employed” couriers and drivers.

Marie-Therese Ross, a National Gallery worker for 24 years, said: “Our case highlights the exploitation of precarious workers across the arts and beyond. We are standing up for fair employment rights and calling for our public arts organisations to value the expertise and experience at the heart of their education programmes.”

Al Johnson, who worked for the National Gallery for 19 years, said: “Dismissing these educators represents a loss of over 500 years of teaching experience, knowledge and inspiring conversations with the public about the art that belongs to us all.”

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