Wilko workers fear finding jobs 'will be tough'

Wilko in Worksop closed in September

More than a month has passed since Wilko closed its distribution centre in Worksop on 15 September.

The centre employed more than 1,200 people, who accounted for almost one in 10 of the 12,500 made redundant when the company collapsed.

Some have already found new jobs, but workers say they fear competition for vacancies in the area will be fierce among those who are still seeking new employment.

The district of Bassetlaw has a population of about 117,800, of which 2,195 were unemployed and claiming benefits in August before the distribution centre closed its doors.

That number is expected to rise when the Wilko distribution centre workers are added to the official figures for the area, which was already struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Workers at Citizens Advice said their clients in the area had debts totalling £1.9m in April, which is a record level and an increase of £900,000 on the previous year.

The BBC's File on 4 has spent a month in Wilko following several former workers.

One of them, Pat Leivers, 61, lives in Worksop with her daughter Jayne, who suffers with fibromyalgia, scoliosis, and benign joint mobility.

Pat and her daughter were both made redundant when Wilkos went into administration

Ms Leivers worked nights at the Wilko distribution centre so she could be around for Jayne in the day.

Jayne also worked at Wilko but struggled with her health and was on sick leave.

Her care needs have made finding a new job for Ms Leviers more difficult.

"When Jayne is having bad days, sometimes she can't even walk, she can't get in the bath if I'm not in the house because she can't get out", Ms Leviers said.

She has applied for hundreds of jobs since being made redundant in mid-September.

Ms Leviers added: "I just need a job, how anyone lives on benefits is beyond me, because job seekers is £84 a week, how do you live on that?"

'Some can't read, write or drive'

Ms Leivers' former team manager, Craig Stringfellow, 55, believes he has been one of the lucky ones.

He has now found work in a local sandwich factory but said he has had sleepless nights about some of his former colleagues.

"I am concerned because there's some people I worked with who aren't able to read and write and can't drive," Mr Stringfellow added.

"I've been helping two or three others in our group fill the benefit forms and we've been doing their CVs to try and help them get in the jobs market."

But Mr Stringfellow worries it will be tough for his former colleagues to find a new job with so many people looking for work in the area.

"There's 1,500 people being made redundant … I don't think they're anywhere near 1,500 jobs out there. So some people are going to suffer."

Craig Stringfellow has now found work at a local sandwich factory

Administrators PWC said it had set up a dedicated helpline and ran job fairs to help former Wilko staff and had also worked with the government and unions to support people.

Wilko was founded in Leicester in 1930 when JK Wilkinson opened his first store. It expanded across the Midlands initially and by the 1990s became one of Britain's fastest-growing retailers. ]#

After the company announced it was entering administration on 10 August, a number of Wilko workers in Worksop turned to the local Bassetlaw Citizen's Advice for help and support .

The charity's chief executive, Karen Whitlam, said they've never been busier.

"Where we'd normally probably support around 5,000 people with advice and support, we expect it to be around 10,000 people this year," she said.

Ms Whitham added her main concern is the number of people falling into debt in the area.

Since the start of the financial year in April, the branch has handled £1.9 million in debt, up £900,000 on this time last year.

Nationally, Citizen's Advice helped people with debts worth a total of £709 million last year - a 6% increase on the year before (£666 million).

"I believe 2023 will be remembered as the year of debt," Ms Whitham said.

One of the people Karen Whitham's team has helped is former Wilko assistant product technologist, Jim Parker. He was made redundant at the end of August.

Jim Parker had worked at Wilko for 25 years

Jim, 47, joined Wilko straight out of university and worked there in various positions for 26 years.

He said he had never claimed benefits before and found the whole idea of it daunting.

"I had the first meeting with job seekers, and I was quite upbeat going into it but came out afterwards feeling a bit demoralised," he said.

Jim added he had to be realistic about any future salary expectations because he needed a new job as quickly as possible.

"The ones I've been looking at aren't on a comparable wage to the one I was on before," he said.

"Then you factor in any kind of care costs for the dog that we've got and any travel costs to and from work. It kind of brings it down to possibly around minimum wage."

At the beginning of October - a month after his losing his job - Jim had a breakthrough.

"I got an interview for a finance job, it's at my daughter's local school and they offered me a job, which I accepted," he said.

"It was good considering it was my first interview for 25 years. I was pleased, and hopefully it will be the end of October when I start that."

• Listen to File on 4: "Wilko Town" on BBC Radio 4 at 20:00 on 17 October