A community on the outskirts of London raised £3,170 ($4,050) to send its street cleaner on his second-ever overseas vacation, but his employer attracted ire when it said that he couldn’t accept the money.
Paul Spiers has worked as a street cleaner in Beckenham, southeast London, since 2017, according to a GoFundMe page. Local estate agent Lisa Knight set up the page for his 63rd birthday after learning that he had been saving up to go to Portugal with his brother, per The Times of London.
At the time of writing, the fundraiser is at £3,170. But Spiers’ employer, waste-management company Veolia, has said that he can’t accept the donations under the terms of its contract with the local council.
“Our contract with Bromley council does not permit our staff to accept any monies or incentives outside of agreed pay structures,” a spokesperson for Veolia told Business Insider.
“We are truly grateful for the support and recognition shown by the community to Paul, who alongside a hardworking street cleansing team, does a fantastic job keeping Bromley’s streets clean,” the spokesperson said.
But because Veolia hadn’t been made aware of the fundraising in advance, it had been “therefore unable to work together to find the most appropriate way to recognise Paul,” the spokesperson said.
Instead, Veolia will match the amount raised as of August 9 and donate it to a charity of Spiers’ choice, the spokesperson said. They said that it would name Spiers as Bromley’s Employer of the Quater, which would include a financial reward.
Spiers had been worried that he would lose his job if he accepted the money or the vacation, The Times reported.
“I do think he’s still satisfied even if he doesn’t get to go, but I feel like I’ve got his hopes up,” Knight, who started the fundraiser, told the publication. “It was just meant to be something nice, not something that’s made a man who really needs the job, worried about the safety of his job.”
Knight and other local residents hope that Veolia reverses its decision. Liam Conlon, Member of Parliament for Beckenham and Penge, said that he was “very disappointed” and asked the leader of Bromley Council what action it could take to ensure that Spiers could accept the gift.
“This is an absolutely farcical situation!” one person wrote on Facebook in response to a post by Conlon. Another person commented that they could understand why the policy existed in the case of conflicts of interest, but that “there is no ulterior motive here other than thanks from the general public.”
Locals have also posted in a community group on Facebook expressing their annoyance at the decision.
Knight wrote on the GoFundMe page that she would refund the donors if Veolia refused to change its mind.
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