Bookshop workers win payout

Former workers at a Christian bookshop in Lincoln have won a "substantial" payout after being sacked by the company's new owners, a union has said.

A total of 32 staff were employed by SPCK, which transferred to the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSG) in 2006.

Four of them worked at the city branch.

The shop workers' union Usdaw said SSG broke UK employment laws by trying to force staff to sign new contracts and then sacking them last year.

It said its legal team fought the "complex" case to get all money owed.

Usdaw lodged claims with the employment tribunal for all 32 workers, who were based in Norwich, Cambridge, Lincoln, Sheffield, Worcester, Carlisle, Chester, Exeter, Newcastle and York.

One worker, based at Worcester, died during proceedings, with Usdaw pursuing his payout on behalf of his widow.

The union said SSG, controlled by American brothers Mark and Philip Brewer, tried to get staff to sign new contracts with longer hours, fewer holidays and poorer pension rights.

For more on this story see Friday's Lincolnshire Echo.