She remembers her first Christmas party, in Touching and trying to grind on girls — it was horrible to see. What Murray witnessed that night shouldn't have happened: as Harrington had told the Manchester Evening News , Unilad was supposed to have grown up. Back in June of , few people had any idea of Unilad's looming catastrophe. Although many of the former staffers I spoke to had gripes about Unilad management and pay, these were also the glory days.
At the time, the company was doing significant work. But it increasingly became more woke. Unilad's young, talented workforce worked hard and partied harder. If you were on the inside, it felt like a family.
Employees in the London office would gather for Friday night drinks at the built-in bar, which inevitably devolved into debauchery: dancing to "Come on Eileen" on the office desks, or card games soundtracked by Cardi B. One time, someone in the video team dragged a confetti cannon onto the first floor balcony, which looked out over reception, and set it off. She misses it. It was always fun. There were times where projects would get you stressed or you'd argue with someone, but 90 percent of the time I absolutely loved it.
Mind you, it wasn't all fun and larks: after an office refurb moved Sara's entire team into a windowless basement, she says, one guy got a vitamin D deficiency.
When things started to unravel for Unilad, they unravelled fast. The finance team was the first tell: freelancers began muttering about invoices going unpaid. In June of , the Unilad Exposed website came out. By then, Facebook had changed its newsfeed algorithm, limiting the visibility of publisher content. More cost-cutting: Friday night drinks at the London office stopped in August.
Still, as yet, there was no cause for mass panic. Sam Walker, 28, is a freelance video director who worked for Unilad on projects involving clients like Red Bull and Aldi. When his unpaid invoices started mounting in the summer of , at first he didn't see any cause for alarm. But when he did start chasing payment, he was ignored. Actually, that's not strictly true: "I'm annoyed at the people running Unilad.
They were knobs as well. They seemed not to have any regard for their employees… they were like schoolboys. Other people began to notice Unilad's financial situation. One supplier turned up at reception, refusing to leave until he'd been paid. The finance department didn't have a telephone and wouldn't reply to emails, so freelancers would call the staffers who'd commissioned them, demanding to know when they were getting paid.
Like in many media organisations, there was a disconnect between the editorial and production teams, who were responsible for commissioning and producing original content, and the people in finance responsible for paying them. This meant that as the situation worsened, in August and September of , it was business as usual.
Eventually he stopped, because he worried the freelance staff would never be paid. On a shoot in Cornwall in August of , management asked Sara to put expenses on her personal card and said they'd repay her. She refused. It was the right call. When the September, payday came around, her Unilad WhatsApp group lit up. When she got into work, there was an all-office meeting.
Staff were told they'd be paid that month's salary in instalments. The problem is that bigger companies haven't paid us on time, and that obviously affects us.
Sara interrupted him. There are people with genuinely small businesses… turning up at the office. This is what you do all the time. You are getting what you deserve right now. After the meeting, members of the London office sat in the office drinking tequila. Ironically, that day is one of Sara's fondest memories of her time at Unilad: "People were in tears.
They were so worried, they couldn't pay their rent. Although the page is known for funny viral videos and trending news, the pair is experimenting with sharing content related to social causes, such as issues related to the refugee crisis. They know fans love the page for its funny videos. Now they want their views to matter. This acceptance has helped them feel more comfortable sharing content on issues close to their hearts, like autism, homelessness and suicide. This is a BETA experience.
You may opt-out by clicking here. More From Forbes. Dec 3, , am EST. Oct 2, , pm EDT. Sep 30, , pm EDT. Image source, Unilad. The statements did not disclose the amount paid. Related Topics. Companies Social media Viral posts. Published 4 October
0コメント