Important Information For Members Offered Team Leader/COM Positions At William Hill
If you have been offered a new position as a Team Leader, you have been asked to sign your contract for the role by 1st February 2023.
The draft contract includes the following clause:
“You agree that, if it is a requirement of your role or the position you hold that you need to hold a personal management licence (‘PML’) from the Gambling Commission, you will obtain a PML upon request and maintain it in full compliance with the conditions under which it is granted whilst you remain in a role or position which requires you to hold a PML.
Further, you agree that you shall not be entitled to any additional reward or remuneration for obtaining and maintaining any such PML.
In the event that you are unable to obtain a PML, or if it is revoked by the Gambling Commission for any reason, you will immediately inform William Hill in writing and William Hill shall take such action as it reasonably deems appropriate up to and including demotion, or dismissal”.
As we understand it, the company have not drawn your attention to this clause in any way. At the moment, there would be no requirement for you to hold a PML as a Team Leader, but if the Gambling Commission changed its rules, that may change. By accepting this clause in the contract, you will automatically be expected by William Hill to obtain a PML, and pay for it yourself.
There’s no need for William Hill to introduce this clause now. It’s been labelled a failsafe by the company, should the Gambling Commission change its rules, but it’s almost certainly designed to get you to agree to pay for the PML and accept that you may be dismissed if you don’t hold one.
If the Gambling Commission changes its rules, that’s the point at which William Hill should address the obligations imposed by its regulator. It should properly explain the changes and cover the cost of the licence rather than expecting staff to pay. That’s the fair and reasonable way to behave.
We have written to Mark Skinner, William Hill’s Chief People Officer, to ask him to remove the clause from Team Leader contracts. Our advice is to NOT sign the contract until we have received a response from Mr Skinner, irrespective of the deadline. The clause could pose a significant burden for you in the future if you accept it now. We will of course write to members as soon as we have received a response.
Regarding the Cluster Operations Manager position, the Gambling Commission rules say that a PML must be held if you are responsible for “management of licensed activity for a particular area in Great Britain where you have five or more sets of premises for which you hold a premises licence”. If you have been offered a Cluster Operations Manager, please contact us before you sign your contract so that we can discuss the requirements of your role.
If you want to discuss this matter in more detail, our Advice Team can be contacted on 01234 716005. Please share this newsletter with your colleagues. If they are not already members of Affinity, then they should join us now because we cannot help and advise them if they aren’t in the Union.