The boss of a beloved street cleaner who barred him from accepting a £3,000 gift for a dream holiday himself enjoys holidays to Barbados – when the hardworking cleaner has only been abroad once in his life.
Paul Spiers, a 63-year-old street sweeper from Beckenham, south London, known for playing his Elvis Presley tunes while out and about, was set for a Portuguese getaway thanks to local residents’ generosity. Local estate agent manager Lisa Knight kicked off a fundraiser after learning about Paul’s birthday wish for a Portugal trip. She hailed him as “an integral part of our Beckenham village, adored by all”.
Lisa was gobsmacked by the support, with her Gofundme page smashing the £2,000 goal and reaching £3,000. “Despite his hard work and dedication, he has only travelled abroad once, to Portugal. Paul dreams of visiting again, and I would love to help make this dream a reality for him,” she wrote on the fundraising page.
READ MORE: DWP alert as hundreds of thousands of claimants get unexpected £4,000 bill
Elvis fan Ms Knight, named after The King’s daughter Lisa Marie, bonded with Paul over his street performances, reports the Mirror. She recounted how overwhelmed Paul was by the community’s kindness, saying: “When I told him about the first £200 he cried.”
“When I told him about the rest, he cried again. He’s the sweetest man. Someone contacted him recently and said: ‘Hi Paul. You don’t know me, but I’m from Portugal, and Portugal can’t wait to see you, so I’ve just sent some more money to the fund.’ And he’s, like, blown away by how kind everybody has been, and I am as well.”
(Image: GoFundMe)
But things didn’t go swimmingly afterwards, with his bosses at the global waste management firm Veolia putting a damper on things, saying he can’t pocket the cash.
A spokesperson for Veolia said: “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. Unfortunately… our contract with Bromley Council does not permit our staff to accept any monies or incentives outside of agreed pay structures.”
“We have agreed with Paul that we will match the amount raised as of Friday, August 9, to be donated to a charity of his choice. Veolia has a number of recognition schemes across the UK that reward our colleagues for exceptional services to the community and Paul will be the recipient of Bromley’s Employee of the Quarter – an internal financial reward to recognise his hard work and dedication.”
In a twist, it’s been revealed that Paul’s top boss at Veolia, Pascal Hauret, rakes in a cool £135,958 annually, as per Glassdoor stats. While Hauret enjoys playing golf and Caribbean getaways, including a trip to Barbados, according to a Mail Online report, poor Paul can’t even pocket the donations from a fundraiser due to Veolia’s strict rules tied to their Bromley Council contract.
Lisa shared the gutting update on the fundraising page: “Unfortunately, we have received news that Paul is unable to accept the donations due to restrictions set by his employer, Veolia, in accordance with their contract with Bromley Council. These rules prohibit staff from accepting any monetary gifts or incentives beyond their regular salary.”
She added: “We’re deeply disappointed that this decision prevents Paul from enjoying this well-deserved holiday as a recognition for all of his hard work for the Beckenham community. We have expressed our disappointment to both the council and Veolia and intend to continue to push on this, but please be rest assured, if we are unsuccessful in doing so you will all be refunded. Once again, thank you for your incredible support and for being part of this fundraiser.”