Hart: at Standard for nine years
The deputy City editor of the Evening Standard, Joanne Hart, is said by colleagues to be taking legal advice about compensation after being sacked.
Hart has been with the paper nine years, six of them in her present position. She has been told to look for another job during her three months’ contractual notice period.
Her lawyers are now trying to clarify her position, since she has received no criticism of her work and no verbal or written warnings. The newspaper will not comment on the situation.
Her colleagues are fearful that Hart’s dismissal is only the beginning of changes in their department. Editor Veronica Wadley has called for a "refreshed" City team.
Hart worked for four years on Channel 4’s Business Daily and before that had her first two-and-a-half-year stint with the Standard.
Wadley has cancelled the Queen’s Jubilee Bank Holiday day off for journalists despite the fact that the paper will not be published that day.
In a memo from editorial manager Jeannette Arnold, staff learned that Tuesday, 4 June will be a normal working day for them and that Wadley expects all of them to be in.
She believes that the previous weekend will be an important one for sport, with the World Cup starting on 31 May, and for Jubilee celebrations in London.
"Veronica thinks that to come in cold on Wednesday morning having been off since Friday is too long a break," said Arnold. "But everyone will get a day off in lieu for the Bank Holiday."
By Jean Morgan
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