Psychic News, SNU Spiritualist National Union and Liquidator

Thank You Bill you are exactly right

Hiorta could you please expand upon your thoughts upon the thread I set up about the major organisations on this forum

http://spiritualismlink.forumotion.com/major-organisations-snu-nsac-greater-world-isf-etc-f39/

I also wish to look at Mr Wests problems, The Waterloo Church issue ( http://www.waterloospiritualistchurch.com/) and a similar situation with a Bristol Church which an FSNU telle me that the SNU lost.

However, this is not the place or time to concentrate on anything other the actions they are now doing.

Recently on www.paranormalreview.com Geoff Griffiths remarked in his post:

"On Friday evening, I attended a meeting of the SNU’s Southern District, introducing the new SNU president, David Bruton, who is touring the districts. Not unnaturally, in a wide-ranging discussion, the subject of PN came up. He assured the audience that he wanted to re-launch PN with editorial independence and ‘for the whole Spiritualist movement, not just the SNU.’ He had previously said that he wanted to have a long, hard look at how it could be made financially viable, but could not see how it could continue as it was.

Now, I would have thought that this long, hard look should have taken place long before it fired the staff, including the ‘best PN editor of modern times’. (That quote is not mine, but that of David Bruton when he was chair of the Psychic Press 1995 Ltd.)

If PN is to be reinstated as an independent, yet re-formatted, publication, then what exactly has been achieved by this cack-handed exercise? It has created a huge backlash, lost some good people their jobs and brought the NEC and the SNU (whose members had no say in this) into disrepute."

It seems to me to be rather odd that Bruton can be assuring SNU members that he wanted to re-launch PN - and as an independent paper for all Spiritualists when he has recently closed Psychic News down, and made the staff redundant.

I ask, how can Mr. Bruton say this when allegedly Psychic Press (1995) Ltd, which produced Psychic News was no longer financially viable and had to be placed into liquidation? How can he actually do what he suggests he wants if Psychic Press is in liquidation?
I understand from what Roy Stemman has written that the SNU claim that it owns the masthead and archives of Psychic News, yet how is this possible?

Surely the masthead and archives belonged to Psychic Press and formed part of the assets which when liquidation occurs would be available for a potential buyer to purchase so that an independent Psychic News could rise from the ashes of the SNU's appalling conduct.

If this is no longer the case, just how did the SNU manage to remove the vital assets associated with Psychic News, and to keep them as their own? Surely this is asset stripping?

It seems we have a company (Psychic Press) which is no longer financially viable, but somehow, before it is placed in liquidation someone has obtained the vital assets of that company's business, all without any announcements or scrutiny. Somehow Bruton seems to believe, indeed be confident in that belief, that Psychic News will re-emerge - and as an independent newspaper, yet at the same time, the SNU of which he is the President, claims to directly own the assets, in which case just how could the SNU actually produce a new Psychic News which is actually independent.

One might also ask why, if there is an intention to re-launch Psychic News as a new 'independent' newspaper for all Spiritualists, it was necessary to make redundant all the staff, that is those who had the skills to actually produce this 'independent' new Psychic News? Surely the SNU is not so niave as to believe that they have the skills to do it - one only has to look at their past efforts at producing an in-house publication to see what a dismal failure their attempt to produce a new Psychic News from within the SNU would be.

As Geoff Griffiths notes at the end of his post on paranormal review:

"Whenever I mention Sue's transformation of PN to a Spiritualist audience, there is always a strong murmur of agreement rippling through the audience. She has immense support and loyalty and there is immense anger the way she and her staff have been treated. I doubt if the SNU's re-launch of PN will fly without her in the editorial chair."

Lis wrote:
As Geoff Griffiths notes at the end of his post on paranormal review:

"Whenever I mention Sue's transformation of PN to a Spiritualist audience, there is always a strong murmur of agreement rippling through the audience. She has immense support and loyalty and there is immense anger the way she and her staff have been treated. I doubt if the SNU's re-launch of PN will fly without her in the editorial chair."

Really Lis you are right, failing to pay out the redundancy monies is a certain sign of insolvency, taking money for future events that will not happen after resolving on insolvency at the board, is an insolvent and illegal act. This is not a members liquidation, albeit we now know the NEC voted to accept liquidation on June 12. No director signed the required Statutory Declaration of Solvency so when they voted for liquidation it was a Creditors Liquidation and they knew it would be insolvent.

The Directors had a duty to notify Companies House and fulfil all their legal obligations including calling a Creditors meeting within 14 days of May 22nd and did not.

I will use Roy's piece on asset stripping and Susan Farrow's interview to highlight this very soon and all the steps they have done wrong in UK Companies Law.

I doubt there are many SNU members who do not know what has happened and how badly things have been done (even potentially well in in contradiction to UK law). Yet the membership seems intent, with a few very honourable exceptions, like Geoff Griffith's and Eric Hatton, to stay in the background and keep quiet. If this NEC can be allowed to do this to PN what can it do to any church and member whilst you all stay silent. This is how dictatorships gain power. I hope that if Geoff and Eric come under fire you will at least find the courage to stand up and say ENOUGH. I wish you would all gather the courage to ask for an internal, independent, examination of the behaviour of the NEC in this dreadful business and their treatment of seven loyal staff.

In considering the closure of Psychic News, and the alleged liquidation of Psychic Press, examining what the editor, Susan Farrow, had to say in her interview with Roy Stamman is very intriguing.

She confirms that there was a working party set up no doubt by the NEC or perhaps more correctly by the then President, Duncan Gascoyne, back in April. The working party was apparently to examine the future of PN. The editor believes that the working party members were "David Bruton, Duncan Gascoyne, Mark Bradley and Andrew Hadley," a view that I believe others would share.

David Bruton and Mark Bradley are two of the four directors of Psychic Press. The other two directors, Cissie Shaw and Lynda Bradley, were apparently excluded from the working party, a fact which I believe the editor rightly describes as "strange when you consider that it's those four directors who have legal responsibility for the company."

A working party to consider the future of Psychic News which excludes two of the directors responsible for the operation of Psychic News is, indeed, a very odd working party. I might also ask whether the two directors who were excluded were ever even made aware of the working party or given an opportunity to express their views to it.

I might also ask to what extent the Board of Psychic Press (1995) Ltd have been involved in whatever has gone on since 22 May 2010 when it decided that Psychic Press must be put into liquidation. Rumour has it that at least two directors where kept in the dark throughout. This is a pity because though they may not have been a party to what has been done by the SNU, they will, if an investigation is undertaken, still be liable for what has been done.

But the real culprits would appear to be those named above, and perhaps it is time the members of the SNU stood up and got counted. Time to reject such underhand dealings as have occurred in relation to the closing of Psychic News. Time for the members to call for an accounting of what has been done in their name by those who hold power in the SNU.

As Admin observes in his post, if the members remain silent and allow their organization to behave in this manner, they really cannot complain or claim to be surprised, if one day their church comes under attack from these same individuals who it would seem are quite ruthless in their determination to do whatever they see fit, regardless of how many people it hurts, or how much damage is done to the Spiritualist movement.

Geoff Griffiths also stated:

"Collective responsibility sometimes protects the guilty and exposes the innocent. I say this because there were certainly anti-PN people on the old NEC and David Bruton was never one of them. And where the buck stops is not always where it belongs."

This seems to suggest that David Bruton may not be the person responsible for what has happened, yet I cannot quite see how this can be so. Notwithstanding that he may have appeared to be a supporter of Psychic News, he was until last year the Executive Director of Psychic Press, and since then Chairman of the Board of Psychic Press. As such he must have been involved in the decision making.

That viewpoint is supported by the fact that he was also one of those on the working party, along with Duncan Gascoyne, the then President of the SNU, and Bruton's mentor, Mark Bradley, Bruton's replacement as Executive Director of Psychic Press, and Andrew Hadley. Bruton can hardly be said to have been unaware of the decision to close Psychic News, nor of being involved with the decision to do so. He equally must take responsibility for what has been done since the Board, he was on as Chairman voted to put Psychic Press (1995) Ltd, into liquidation.

Nor can he be seen to be acting with 'clean hands' in the situation since that time. After all, he was between 22 May 2010 and now, the new President Elect, and on the Executive Committee which 'endorsed' the decision of the Board of Psychic Press on which he sat.

He must have been aware of the delay in effecting the liquidation of Psychic Press. He must have been involved in the decision to not fulfil the legal requirements relating to notification of Companies House, in the required time after the decision to liquidate was made on 22 May.

He must have been involved in the process whereby, despite the decision to liquidate, neither he as a director of Psychic Press, or any of the other directors, complied with the rules in that situation.

He must have been involved in the decision which resulted in the SNU claiming that it "owned" the masthead and archives of Psychic News, and involved in trying to convince the trust which offered to purchase PN, that all that was for sale was what was left after its assets (the masthead and archives) had mysteriously 'become' the property of the SNU.

As President elect, and then President, and also Chairman of the Board of Psychic Press, he must have known what happened with monies received for future events held at Psychic News by the staff because of their concerns about the status of PN. He must have known, or indeed have been party to the authorising of the action of a representative of the SNU Trust removing that money and allowing it to be banked.

All these things, and other actions that might be mentioned, surely make it impossible to say that Mr. Bruton can really be a supporter of Psychic News. If one supported Psychic News, why be so actively and intimately involved in its destruction.

Oh, yes, of course, there is one reason isn't there! So that the SNU could bring to an end the independence of Psychic News and incorporate it into the SNU to be an-house publication subject to the control of the NEC and of course Mr. Bruton.

So when we see Mr. Bruton being described as not one of those in the SNU who were anti Psychic News, we really should be seeing it as not anti there being some form of Psychic News, but not the Psychic News that existed. Not an independent Psychic News.

Is that really how a true supporter would act? Somehow I doubt it. So I say, in this situation, if the buck stops at the President of the SNU, this is exactly where it does belong, no matter who else had a hand in what has been done. When you have been involved, and you are at the top of the pile, the 'boss', you take the flak, and the responsibility for what is done, whether you like it or not. And, if, as in this case that person has actively participated in what has occurred, there really is absolutely no excuse, and no way that person can claim innocence.

Let us now look a little closer at the sequence of events.

Early 2009:
The editorial staff push for extra papges for PN so that the content can be improved. 5000 pounds is 'donated' from the Arthur Findlay College. Another 5000 from a private donation.

April 2010:
A working party is formed to investigate the future of Psychic News. This working party of Duncan Gascoyne, retiring SNU President, David Bruton, President Elect, and Chairman of Psychic Press. Mark Bradley, Executive Director of Psychic Press, and Andrew Hadley, member of the SNU Finance Committee, meet a number of times in April 2010.

4 May 2010:
The staff are told Psychic News is in bad shape.

13 May 2010:
The staff received a memo telling them Psychic News was still a going concern and it was "business as usual" concerning subscriptions, advertising and book sales.

22 May 2010:
The 'working party' recommend to the Board on which two of the working party sit, that the solution is liquidation of Psychic Press and the closure of Psychic News. This is a 'recommendation' the Board approves and the decision is made and minuted that Psychic Press must be put into liquidation. The editor of Psychic News, who is present at the meeting is told she may not inform the staff.

At that meeting David Bruton tells the editor that she and one other staff member would work on a relaunched PN. There does not appear to be any explanation as to how this might be achieved if Psychic Press is being put into liquidation, however, it must be obvious that David Bruton already had some scheme in mind for achieving this despite the winding up of Psychic Press.

It was agreed that a modernisation of format would be needed for future viability. Bruton intimated that the working party's preference was for a monthly hard-copy magazine and possibly a fortnightly internet issue as well.

At that same meeting an offer from the Spiritual Truth Foundation (STF) was put on the table. The STF was willing to fund a marketing initiative for the paper, provided it remained editorially independent. It is unknown whether that offer was ever explored in more detail, however, based on what happened subsequently it is doubtful that any action was taken on it.

22 May - 2 June 2010:
The Directors of Psychic Press do not act on their decision to liquidate Psychic Press and apparently await 'endorsement' of the decision by the NEC.

2 June 2010:
Cheques amounting to almost £4,000 have been received as advance payments for future events which by this time were known would not take place. The staff knowing that liquidation had been decided upon, had done their utmost to retain them.

A representative of the SNU Trust (the bankers) visit the Psychic News office and ask the accounts manager to hand over Psychic News' chequebook. They also request the handover of all cheques pertaining to the Physical Mediumship event, which they promptly cash. Obviously, the Trust had been instructed to do this.

6 - 10 June 2010:
Word is begining to leak that Psychic News may be in danger of closing. A post to this effect is placed on this forum - as a rumour yet to be confirmed.

12 June 2010:
The SNU's National Executive Committee (NEC) ratified the liquidation of the company. The editor is then told that Psychic News would cease trading on 31 July.

13 June 2010:
News of the planned closure leaks out. The editor of Psychic News receives an e-mail telling them that the staff must now be informed of immediate liquidation. It appears the editor is expected to pass on this decision to the staff despite this clearly not being her responsibility.

14 June 2010:
The editor gets a further email instruction saying "Hold the Front Page we have a reprieve. PN is to receive a donation of £10,000." Within hours that "donation" had been reduced to £5,000."

15 June to 3 July 2010:
The editor repeatedly expresses concerns to Mark Bradley, the executive director, in e-mails and phone calls. She and other staff members being concerned about taking money from the public when the situation appeared so uncertain. The PN staff are left in an untenable position, taking a constant stream of calls from concerned subscribers and advertisers, yet frequently having no clear instructions on what to say to them.

Despite the decision to liquidate on 22 May, ratified on 12 June 2010, no action to comply with the legal requirements is taken and the directors of Psychic Press and the NEC as the directors of the parent company, the SNU, continue to allow people to make payments for goods and services they will not receive.

3 July 2010:
Retiring SNU President , Duncan Gascoyne, informs the SNU membership at the Annual Conference AGM that he was going to give them the facts about is the current situation regarding Psychic News. He states that it appeared to him "there was no real motive or incentive from the majority of SNU Spiritualists or the Movement in general to keep it going, apart from a few individuals who feel it should be kept going for historic or sentimental reasons. However feeling sentimental about it does not pay the high costs involved in publishing a weekly newspaper."

Gascoyne further states "As the situation stands at present the Company cannot continue, as it is no longer in a viable financial position to do so and we now have no choice to take the appropriate action and liquidate it. Due to the fact that Psychic Press (1995) Ltd is responsible for publishing Psychic News this now means that this in its present form will cease publication on the 31st July 2010."

While claiming there was no choice but to place Psychic Press into liquidation, Mr. Gascoyne claims he did not personally make the decision to close down Psychic News. He argues that he has actually spent a "great amount of time and effort in trying to keep it going and also finding the finance to do this. Otherwise it would have shut down weeks ago."

While he acknowledges that the "decision to liquidate was taken by the Board of Psychic Press (1995) Ltd and this has subsequently been endorsed by the National Executive Committee" he fails to mention how long ago that decision was made - by 3rd July, it was already 6 weeks, without any appropriate action being taken.

While suggesting that he was announcing this because he felt "that the Union churches and members should be informed first of all about the decisions made and reasons why," Mr. Gascoyne does not in fact tell the membership what were the decisions made, or when they were made, or why, other than in the broadest of terms, and clearly without clarifying just what the scheme was that might allow Psychic Press to be put into liquidation yet the SNU still be able to retain control of Psychic News and be able to re-launch it in some new format.

24th July 2010:
The last edition of Psychic News. Within its pages the depth of unhappiness at the demise of Psychic News is made clear.

24 July - 18 August 2010:
A Spiritualist organisation attempts to purchase Psychic News only to discover that the SNU claims it owns the masthead and archives and these are not for sale. Thye discover there is nothing of value to purchase if the masthead and archives are not part of the deal.

The SNU executive involved in negotiations seem quite unconcerned and determined to hang onto what bits of Psychic News it wants for its own purposes, regardless of public outcry or criticism of their conduct.

The SNU claims there is another potential buyer but who remains undisclosed.

20 August 2010:
The staff of Psychic News are finally made redundant and informed they must claim their redundancy monies through the government scheme. For 5 weeks after the closure of Psychic News, the staff have been kept in the dark about what is happening. They have been obliged to fend off phone calls and emails expressing concern at the closure of PN and complaints about loss of money for services not received. They are put under constant pressure, with little if any regard being given to them by the SNU.

The company Psychic Press is still not actually in liquidation but will apparently be 'soon.' It is now 13 weeks since the decision to liquidate was actually made yet none of the appropriate actions have been taken. What has actually gone on behind the scenes is cloaked in secrecy.

People have lost their jobs. Spiritualists have lost their paper. Subscribers and advertisers have lost their money. People who paid for future events have lost their money.

Yet, at no time have the directors of Psychic Press, or the executive of the SNU, the parent company, had the decency to even inform any of these people as to what is really happening. Why, since Psychic Press has not been put into liquidation for 13 weeks after the decision to do so was made were the staff left in limbo for so long? Why do they have claim redundancy from the government scheme? What is happening to the money people paid for future events, advertising and subscriptions? The SNU just took their money, banked it, and ignored everyone as it did whatever it decided it wanted to do.

How could the SNU do that?

Exactly right Lis and the time frame says it all and makes it obvious how disgracefully the NEC have operated. It is also clear that the whole organisation will be tainted with this for years unless ordinary members protest.

When people say to Independent Spiritualists they are SNU members its a fair bet this will be raised for many years to come. What did Bruton say at his conferece speech, did he not talk about Trust, Openness, Honesty and Open Communication.

What finer start could he have made to get the rest of the SNU to accept that the NEC has and will change. As Ripley said Believe it or Believe it not in this case.

I agree Lis, How could the SNU do that.

How could they act like a business that has lost its moral compass, when the very business they are in is to help people find a moral compass?

Reading about all this does make me look back at the bank I used to work for with a lot more kindness than I used to. Putting it's dubious business principles aside, at least it was honest about how it operated and looked after redundant staff very well - I should know I was one of them.

The way SNU looks after its staff makes my old bank look positively saintly in comparison

A very good time-line, Lis.

What is clear is that something, probably not the financial situation, triggered the working party to decide in April that Psychic News should go into liquidation. So even then it may appear to be clear that the SNU had a cunning plan to reopen Psychic News as a part of their organisation, clearly under much stricter control by the NEC.

Hmm... it is possible - given that when they met on 22nd May the last act of the full Board of Psychic Press was to pass a resolution to liquidate PP and the key members of the working party have been involved ever since, to the exclusion of other directors - that the real decision to liquidate may, in a true legal sense, date back to April.

What becomes clear is that the Board and the executive director were informed of problems in May and told the staff. They then passed a motion to liquidate the company. That motion never needed ratification by the NEC as it was a creditors' liquidation for previously stated legal reasons. The Board then HAD to notify Companies House, gazette the news and place a notice of the decision in two local papers. The Board had to call a creditors' meeting - all of this within 14 days. They failed to do so, breaching their legal duties under the Companies Act. Warnings should have gone on the PP website and no monies should have been taken for future publications or events which would not occur.

It is interesting that the Board was asking the editor to consider a new paper at the same time, even after PP was liquidated. This suggests they intended to hang on to the assets - something they confirmed during negotiations the JV Trust.

Clearly the JV trust knew what had been transferred by the Spiritual Truth Foundation into Psychic Press in 1995, and an inventory of that transfer must surely still exist. This must include the masthead and archives. Yet the Board made it clear that PP was going into liquidation in an insolvent manner. Therefore no dealings can take place with those assets after the date of the Board's decision. Any attempt to trade assets would be a direct and fraudulent attempt to achieve a preference for one creditor and ensure that all of the others receive nothing. A liquidator taking control of the assets is duty bound to establish any dealings in the original assets of PP, and when they occurred, in order to recover any such misdealings. If the SNU tries to claim the assets transferred earlier, then any transfer like this, of such major assets, would have to appear in Board minutes and substantial compensation be paid for it. Any genuine liquidator would be hunting for the assets to ensure there had been no misdealings.

Therefore the assets must be available and auctioned for the benefit of all creditors. It is an unrealistic situation for the NEC to try to hang on to the key items.

An attempt to move the assets could exist, although this is doubtful. We hear that on June 13th the editor was instructed to inform all staff members of their redundancy. Then the news leaked out and it is my understanding that Bruton and Gascoyne became aware that the cat was out of the bag and a silent assassination was no longer possible. Suddenly they suspended the instant liquidation because £10,000 was allegedly available.

This change of mind raises 2 questions:
Firstly, it would appear this email countermanded the redundancies. One wonders whether any subsequent notice was ever given to the staff on the fact of redundancy. It's an interesting legal point but it may just be that the redundancies were not only done in an appalling way, with no pay out, but they may in fact lack any legal validity.

Secondly, what was the £10,000 for? Though it was almost immediately reduced to £5,000, it could not, could it, have been an illegal payment for the masthead and archives? Illegal because it attempts to take them out of reach of the liquidator. Given the flagrant way the SNU have ignored the laws of the UK in their acts, it may must just be possible. However a proper liquidator could get this set aside as a preference, if that is what happened.

I am certain that the liquidator will look carefully, because he will surely remember his duty to all creditors. It must be expected that the JV Trust will offer again for PP once it is in liquidation. I am sure that, as they had an original record of assets, they know what those assets are now.

The liquidator, who, given that the staff have now gone, has probably taken over, is duty bound to get the best result for all creditors. He would be forced to look for the assets listed in the JV Trusts offer if the NEC claimed they did not now belong to PP. If the liquidator fails to act properly and the CIB investigate, it would be a serious misdeed by the liquidator.

OK - what we know now is that

• The company was liquidated with the expectation of insolvency.
• The staff have not been paid out their redundancy entitlement.
.
• People who paid money for future events have been told they will not get it back because of this insolvency. This, even when the money was banked and/or received after the date on which liquidation was resolved. Reading the CIB's list of issues, this is a very serious matter which they may well investigate if a complaint is received, EVEN AFTER THE LIQUIDATOR IS APPOINTED. I am sure this fact will ensure the liquidator acts properly.

• All other subscribers and creditors will not be paid their lost monies.

• The SNU have received an offer to keep the paper going and look after the liabilities. They have refused this in what appears a contemptuous manner, even ignoring Eric Hatton, the most revered figure in the SNU.

• The NEC have decided to acquire the masthead and archives by some means, even, possibly, to the detriment of other creditors.

• Throughout this affair the NEC and the two major PP directors Bradley and Bruton have behaved appallingly and in total disregard of their duties under company law.

• There can be little doubt that PP traded whilst insolvent, placing the two directors, who seem to have been excluded, except in the May 22nd decision, at risk. I say this because it is clear from the facts that they knew from the start that many people would never get their money back and the staff would not receive a redundancy pay out.

• Something rattled them, stopping the immediate liquidation in mid June. By changing their mind, the risk level for the NEC and the directors of PP has risen exponentially.

• We also all know this is no way for the peak committee of a body that thinks it represents the finest example of Spiritualist behaviour to behave. It is devoid of any morality; it is the type of act no one in any organisation, religious or not, should commit. It holds the SNU up as an organisation that tells us to behave spiritually but acts in an entirely opposite manner.


However, without protests they may yet get away with it. So write to the SNU, complain to the CIB (the complaints department of Companies House) by email. Write to the trading standards office, tell Fleet Street. Make sure the NEC knows this will not go away and that the searchlight is on them. Tell them to ensure they do not interfere with the liquidation process and allow a free sale of all the assets, as they should be doing.

Very good points Wes were I an SNU member in the UK I would be on the warpath and raising the tribe, I am sure with the support of Red Cloud and Silver Birch

almera wrote:The NEC of the SNU are a crafty lot and they have wide screen TV in HD and we are using old black and white sets with the horizontal hold slipping. They did not turn down the JV trust offer with nothing else on the table and unfortunatly we all have to wait as they call the tune. The previous employees and the editor are too quiet there is a move on, you mark my words Al

No Al they think they are THAT clever, they are not, all hell will break loose. Well we will see what happens next. Bruton may have an MBA, his mates may be wealthy with Bentleys and money but it does not always mean they win. Indeed so many with widescreen TV miss the reality of what is happening around them.

Spirit will, I am sure roll a dice here. If the SNU win well, if Spirit allows such terrible behaviour to succeed then just maybe we should all walk away from Spiritualism. I believe that the reality is even if the NEC wins now, if we all remember it, then Spiritualism will also move on and improve. I would hate to be one of these NEC members as time unfolds ...

Thank you Lis and Jim for the precise precis of events.
I think the actions of the NEC make the Mafia look innocent in comparison. One can only hope that the law catches up with them and that they receive their overdue comeuppance.

Bill

Jock, could you please explain what you mean when you say the editor is too quiet and that there is a move on?
Bill

With sincere apologies. My question should, of course been addressed to Almera. Sorry.

Bill

Bill wrote:With sincere apologies. My question should, of course been addressed to Almera. Sorry.

Bill

You were right first time, Bill.

Almera aka Merlin is Jock MacArthur.

[color=blue][color=blue]http://www.snu.org.uk/news/pn_statement2.htm

Apparently PN Staff have not been given redundancy pay. They apparently have been told they must apply to the government!

"In general, to be due a payment, you must have been dismissed by your employer rather than have resigned and the reason for dismissal must have been redundancy.

"If you are laid off (that is, you receive no wages) or put on short time (that is, you receive less than half a week's pay) for four weeks in a row or six weeks out of 13 weeks, you may also claim a redundancy payment without waiting to be dismissed for redundancy. You must make your claim in writing to your employer, who may refuse to pay if he or she believes normal working is likely to return within four weeks.

"If you are on a fixed-term contract and it ends without being renewed, this counts as a dismissal and you may be due a redundancy payment.

"You will be entitled to a payment under the Act only if the reason for your dismissal is redundancy. This means that your dismissal must be caused by your employer's need to reduce his or her workforce. Redundancy may happen because a work place is closing down, or because fewer employees are (or are expected to be) needed for work of a particular kind."

What if my employer cannot pay?

"If your employer is insolvent, we will pay you and claim back the payment from the assets of the business. Ask your employer's representative (for example: liquidator, receiver or trustee) for a claim form "RP1". Fill it in as soon as possible after your employment has ended and send it to the Redundancy Payments Office."

From: Redundancy entitlement statutory rights: a guide for employees
URN No: 09/576
Department of Business Innovation and Skills

We also wish to thank the staff of Psychic Press for their years of dedicated service to the company: their hard work and efforts over their time with us are very much appreciated and did such a great deal to help sustain the viability of Psychic Press in earlier years.


- The National Executive Committee of the Spiritualists' National Union. 23rd August 2010

I've added italics to show where it looks like the staff are being blamed for the demise of PN, which is appalling to say the least when the SNU had not supported them with an advertising budget, as without marketing PN was doomed.

It also seems odd that on one hand you can very much appreciate their hard work but on the other treat them like mushrooms and discard them with no compensation.

Hi Almera thank you for the link to that press release by the SNU

If you are a creditor - that is, you paid for a subscription which you haven't received because Psychic News stopped publication, or you were an advertiser who paid for advertisements which were never published, or you paid money for an event which will not take place - please attend the shareholders and creditors meeting on 15 September.

In addition to make clear to the liquidator that you are a creditor I encourage you to write to them to lodge your claim. This ALL creditors should do but is especially important if you are unable to attend, particularly if you are residing overseas.

The SNU announcement states that Mark West, of Berley, Chartered Accountants, located at 76 New Cavendish Street London W1G 9TB UK is the Liquidator appointed.

He can be contacted by:
Tel: 020 7636 9094,
Fax: 020 7636 4115,

and also there is an email address that can be used:

E-mail: info@berley.co.uk

Obviously if contacting by email or fax it should be marked attention to Mark West, Re Liquidation of Psychic Press (1995) Ltd.

What if my employer cannot pay?

"If your employer is insolvent, we will pay you and claim back the payment from the assets of the business. Ask your employer's representative (for example: liquidator, receiver or trustee) for a claim form "RP1". Fill it in as soon as possible after your employment has ended and send it to the Redundancy Payments Office."

From: Redundancy entitlement statutory rights: a guide for employees
URN No: 09/576
Department of Business Innovation and Skills

Thanks for that Z I hope the staff make their claim quickly so the Government can move in and claim on the liquidator

Lis wrote:If you are a creditor - that is, you paid for a subscription which you haven't received because Psychic News stopped publication, or you were an advertiser who paid for advertisements which were never published, or you paid money for an event which will not take place - please attend the shareholders and creditors meeting on 15 September.

In addition to make clear to the liquidator that you are a creditor I encourage you to write to them to lodge your claim. This ALL creditors should do but is especially important if you are unable to attend, particularly if you are residing overseas.

The SNU announcement states that Mark West, of Berley, Chartered Accountants, located at 76 New Cavendish Street London W1G 9TB UK is the Liquidator appointed.

He can be contacted by:
Tel: 020 7636 9094,
Fax: 020 7636 4115,

and also there is an email address that can be used:

E-mail: info@berley.co.uk

Obviously if contacting by email or fax it should be marked attention to Mark West, Re Liquidation of Psychic Press (1995) Ltd.

Agree entirely Lis, as a note to everyone, if you cannot get there make sure that you get a proxy form I am sure someone on here will atend on your behalf. Maybe some of the loyal staff will be lodging a claim for the difference between the Government Redundancy scheme and what they were fully entitled to. If one of those were attending we could all email them signed proxy forms to enhance their vote at the Creditors meeting. It is vital that the NEC are prevented from forming the entire Committee of Inspection.

We need as many people as possible there to register the protest. I realise if Roy Stemman has lost money on tickets he can attend to.

They may need a very big hall.