British trade unions on Wednesday criticized as a “feeling” of a decision by the monarchy to issue a notification of redundancy this week to several staff at the former official residence of King Charles III.
Up to 100 employees who worked at the Clarence House, including some there for decades, reportedly received notifications on Monday during the prayer service at Edinburgh for the late Ratu Elizabeth II.
This followed Charles’s accession to the throne last Thursday after his mother’s death, which in turn means he released the title of Prince Wales and Duchy of Cornwall Estate that he had held.
The operations, which were officially carried out from the Clarence House residence, will now stop, the office is confirmed, after the Guardian newspaper first reported the development on Tuesday.
“Clarence House’s decision to announce the redundancy during the mourning period no one feels,” Mark Serwotka, Secretary General of the Public and Commercial Service Union (PCS), said in a statement.
“While some changes in all households are expected, because the role in all kingdoms of change, the scale and speed at which this has been announced is not feeling in extreme.”
He added that the PC remained “committed to supporting the colleagues in all royal family plantations whose future was thrown into chaos by this announcement, at this difficult time”.
However, The Guardian noted that the current Clarence House staff were not believed to have recognized unions available to them.
The step to end the Charles’ Clarence House’s house operation followed steps similar to the household of Ms. Ratu Elizabeth, who died in 2002, and Charles’s father Prince Philip, who died last year.
A spokesman for Clarence House said “As required by the law, the consultation process” has begun after the accession last week.
“Our staff have provided long and loyal services and, while some redundancy will not be avoided, we work immediately to identify the alternative role for the largest number of staff that is possible,” he added.
Royal sources said the effort was made to postpone informing the affected staff until after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth on Monday, but the legal advice sought said that it must be distributed at the earliest.
Every employee who is excessively made will be offered a payment of “increased” redundancy and nothing will be affected for at least three months, according to the royal source.