Former club employees miss out on money owed

Former Clubs of Marlborough employees will not get any of the money owed to them, it has been confirmed.

Fifty-two employees claimed $172,411.87 in money owed for wages, holiday pay and pay in lieu of notice.

But last week liquidators from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed only creditor ANZ bank would receive funds.

The news comes as the sale of the building and assets reaches settlement.

In a statement, a spokesperson says liquidators would look at other ways to recover money.

“Given the high level of debt owed to ANZ, at this stage in the liquidation there will be no further funds remaining to be distributed to other ranks of creditors, including employees.”

Former receptionist Sylvia Rickard had been an employee at the Clubs for almost a year when staff were told the devastating news.

She says she feels let down by managers who did not show up on the last day to support staff.

“Disgusted in the way we were treated by CEO, senior management and committees.

“We should have been informed of what was happening much earlier, so staff could find employment elsewhere. Not three days’ notice, staff had commitments, families etc.”

Sylvia says she enjoyed her job and helping members.

She had remained hopeful the sale of the building and assets would mean staff would get monies owed.

“The building was worth millions.

“The staff were so dedicated that they did not take holidays as they were required to do a specific job, they were told nobody else could do their job.

“Everyone went over and above.”

The Blenheim Working Men’s Club, known as the Clubs of Marlborough, was placed into liquidation on 10 March last year.

A list of creditors shows more than a hundred companies, many local, are owed money with $6,443,882 owing to creditors, secured and unsecured, in total.

The news has come as a bitter blow to staff and business owners hoping to see something salvageable from the collapse.

Former cashier Alexandra Ayres was employed for just over six years. She is owed around 650 hours of holiday pay and lieu days.

Responsible for daily reconciliation of cash and attending to the gaming and TAB machines, she says staff genuinely cared about each other.

But the restructure in 2020 meant more work due to staff shortages, she says.

“I couldn't take more than 5 or 6 days of leave at a time, and this really took a toll on me, I was told at the time we couldn't afford another cashier.

“Towards the end I was wanting to leave but I knew this would leave the remaining staff in a terrible position.

“The staff were the most valuable assets to the club, and I wish we were included in discussions relating to the Clubs’ financial position and had a say in major decisions.

“I feel like we could have had some valuable input. While the club closing was deeply upsetting for me and negatively affected my mental health, I'm one of the lucky ones.

“There are staff members who were left in a much worse position than me and were relying heavily on receiving the holiday pay owed to them.

“I was loyal to the club and cared about it very much but now that I think about it, I don't think we were cared about much at all.”