WIMBLEDON workers say they are being “sacked on the spot” over minor things such as going to the toilet without asking.
The tournament has seen its lowest attendance numbers in 15 years, with staff now being reportedly cut as a result.
Staff at Wimbledon are being sacked for minor offences, according to reports
The sackings have been described as a “cull” among staff and left workers “bricking it”.
An email to housekeeping workers seen by the Sun said that visitor numbers are down and “for this reason the [All England Club] have asked that we look at reducing our day staff numbers. It may become necessary to ‘cut’ staff.”
Staff have now reported to the Times that workers have been fired for minor incidents such as going for toilet breaks without permission.
Wimbledon workers also claim their colleagues have lost their jobs for eating strawberries on Henman Hill or taking breaks to watch the tennis.
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Frustrated staff say people are being sacked “left, right and centre” amid the low turnout.
One housekeeping worker in their 20s told the Times: “They’re just trying to cull people.
“Since the email went out, they’ve been very harsh to people, not really giving them any warnings. They’re getting kicked out for relatively minor things.
“It feels like we’re on edge because when you want to sit down for a bit you’re looking around, hoping no one is watching.
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“When we’ve done our jobs and there’s nothing to do, we can’t just be on our feet all day.”
A 19-year-old student in the housekeeping team said a friend had been sacked a couple days ago.
They added: “When we got this gig, we were really chuffed as it pays pretty well compared to other stuff.
“We were working on Wednesday and during our lunch break my [friend] sat on the Hill and had some strawberries. Next thing he gets an email saying that he won’t be getting any more shifts.
“Now we’re literally all bricking it to do anything on our breaks or even sit on the hill after we finish working in case we get told there won’t be any more shifts for us.”
Attendance at the tournament for the first four days of the championships was 153,193.
This is the lowest since 2007 when only 148,986 people turned up to the Grand Slam event.
This is 11 percent down on the pre-Covid 2019 figures when over 500,000 people attended over the entire tournament, the second highest figures on record at SW19.
The All England Club denied that contractors had been told to cut staff due to low attendance figures.
A spokesperson said: “We value all of the staff who help us to deliver The Championships, they are crucial to staging this world class event.
“We meet annually with each of our major contractors to agree the terms and conditions of employment which are shared with all potential employees.
“We are delighted that many of our staff choose to return to work at Wimbledon year after year and help us to put on an incredible event.”
