Concerns over decision to cancel Harborough job fair due to the period of royal mourning

Harborough District Council had organised the event to be held at its Symington Building on September 15.

The last event saw 50 people get on-the-spot job offers

The decision to cancel a job fair in Harborough due to the period of royal mourning has been criticised.

Job Centre Plus – which organises the events and is part of the Department for Work and Pensions – was told all events should be cancelled as a mark of respect following the death of the late queen.

It was set to be held in the district council’s Symington Building today (September 15).

The fair helps people find work by meeting prospective employers, and a recent event was attended by nearly 300 people and saw some 50 locals receive on-the-spot job offers.

Harborough District Council says while the event is held in its building, the organisation and decision to cancel it was taken nationally and not one over which it had any control.

It worked with another partner, Work Live Leicestershire, to hold an Employment Roadshow yesterday (September 14) in the Symington Building, which it said jobseekers were redirected to. Job club events will also be held in Lutterworth on October 7. It also says the job fair will be rearranged as soon as possible.

But local resident Mary Ann Lund says no jobs fairs should be cancelled.

Dr Lund: “Halting a jobs fair ‘as a mark of respect’ is a wrong-headed decision. People need to work, especially during a cost-of-living crisis, and government at local and national levels should be doing all it can to support those who are seeking jobs.

Dr Lund said: “This seems to me a shameful dereliction of duty, especially during a cost of living crisis. A job fair is not a party or a public celebration. It is a means to get people into employment – a goal that benefits everyone including job seekers, their families, and all taxpayers in the local community. It is successful too. The last job fair on July 28 resulted in almost 50 job offers.”

Across the country events have been cancelled including football matches, fashion shows and rail and postal strikes. According to guidance there is ‘no obligation’ for events to be cancelled during the mourning period.

Those seeking employment are urged to visit the Harborough jobs website here, which offers local job and employment support.