Gulliver's employee sent P45 in post and given no explanation of why

Beth Ryan, 26, from Widnes, was employed by the Old Hall theme park through Workfit, a Down’s Syndrome Association’s employment scheme, back in November 2021.

Having enjoyed the weekly paid work provided by Gulliver’s for the past three years, it came as a complete surprise to Beth when she received a letter out of the blue with her P45 inside.

Speaking of the ‘unfair’ dismissal of her daughter, Beth’s mum Claire Dunbar said: “In May I first learnt that the manager had said they were going to reduce her hours and she was only going to be working when the park was open.

“The manager said they were undergoing some structural changes.

“I was trying to get in touch with the manager about her hours. I emailed the director, Craig Clews, but had no reply.

“Then we got her P45 in the post.

“We then got this letter saying that due to Beth not working for two weeks and under a specific section of the contract, they were ending it.

“That was not the case at all, there were a few occasions where the line manager said the girls employed by Workfit could not go in because they needed supervisors, and they did not have any available.

“We have never had a problem for years with that. The girls were hired under the disability Down’s Syndrome work programme, the theme park said in an article how positive the programme was and yet they treated Beth like this.”

Gulliver's World is located in Old Hall in Warrington (Image: Supplied)

Claire said that reportedly, Beth’s other work colleague who had joined the team through Workfit had also received the same treatment and had been sent a P45 to indicate the end of their employment around the same time.

She said despite attempting to contact the director of the Warrington park, she had heard nothing.

However, after getting in touch with Beth’s contact at Workfit, Claire explained that the organisation’s representative contacted and spoke to the director of Gulliver’s about the P45 that was issued, and he responded ‘full of apologies’, but did not retract the decision made to end her employment.

The Workfit representative advised Beth to take the issue to an Employment Tribunal.

Further ‘disrespect’ was shown to the 26-year-old, who was described by her former manager at the park as a ‘valued employee’, when the letter from Gulliver’s was addressed to ‘Beth’s parents’ and not to her – the employee.

“That was disrespectful and shows a lack of understanding. She is an adult, and she is independent. No other 26-year-old would have a letter addressed to their parents.”

Claire added that her daughter has ‘always loved working there’ at Gulliver’s World and that she received reports from her manager expressing how ‘valued’ she was in the team.

“It is just so unfair to not have any communications,” Claire added.

The Widnes mum stated that following a statement she put out on social media about the treatment of Beth by the company, there was an ‘outcry’ from residents and it was shared multiple times.

Gulliver’s responded to the situation and the treatment of the employee, stating that it was down to ‘poor internal communication’ which has ‘led to confusion’.

Terence Ncube, operations director at Gulliver’s Theme Park Resorts, said: “I am extremely sorry that this situation has occurred. Poor internal communication has led to the confusion.

“I have personally spoken to the manager at Workfit to ensure that employees through this scheme know that they have a role at Gulliver’s World. As soon as she returns from holiday, we are putting a plan in place for regular supervised hours for Workfit employees and look forward to seeing them in the theme park again soon.

“We have worked with WorkFit, the Down’s Syndrome Association’s employment programme which brings together employers and job-seekers who have Down’s Syndrome, since Easter 2023 and are extremely proud of our partnership with them.”

Following this response, Beth has confirmed she will not be returning back to work at Gulliver's World due to the incident.