Student workers at Trinity and St John’s May Balls have criticised committees over delayed payments and dodged communications in the two months since the balls.

The balls, which took place on the 23rd and 24th June respectively, are two of the most distinguished events in the May Week calendar.

Yet, several students who worked at Trinity’s May Ball have said they are still yet to be paid, breaking the ball’s contract promises to pay students shortly after the event.

A student who worked at Trinity told Varsity: “To not have been paid over a month and a half on, and to have direct emails to the Personnel Officer ignored, is a slap in the face.”

Another called the delayed payment “genuinely unacceptable,” considering the committee’s contractual obligation to pay within five days of the event.

John's May Ball has also come under fire for similar payment delays and dodged communications, with students reporting they only received payment in mid-August.

A student who worked as a musician at St. Johns stated: “We are very annoyed about it because we’ve emailed so many times and they have just ghosted.” A general worker told Varsity on Monday they are still yet to be paid, noting that “the contract said we’d get paid within 30 days, which would have been the end of July”.

Both balls are run by student committees and, while some professional help is hired, the bulk of Ball staffing on the night comes from the student body.

Many students work at May Week events to cover the high cost of attending them, with one Trinity worker saying that “the wages for this shift were intended to contribute towards the cost of the May Ball that I did pay to attend.”

An email from Trinity on the 11th July informed students about potential delays in payment due to “delays gathering payroll details from a handful of workers,” suggesting payment may take up to two weeks.

A later email sent on the 27th July informed workers of further delays as “the College hadn’t yet returned some AML [anti-money laundering] forms”.

Yesterday (20/08), the Trinity May Ball Committee sent out an additional email to its workers expressing its “deepest apologies” for the continued payment delays, and informing students payment would be made within a week.

It stated the Committee has been “working tirelessly to demand answers from the college and to have the payments sent as quickly as possible”.

Until the email sent yesterday, another student who worked at Trinity noted the last communication she received was in late July, telling Varsity “we are now over halfway through the month, and have had no further information”.

A Trinity worker told Varsity that she “didn’t really mind” the payment delays, but only as she had no imminent need for the money and was working another job at home.

“I get that it’s student-run, and it’s summer… but you still can’t not pay me – I think it’s still crap,” another who is yet to be paid for working at St John’s commented.

Students working at almost every other May Week event reported quick, almost immediate, payment. Varsity spoke to students who had worked at Pembroke, Downing, Trinity Hall, Queens’, and Newnham May Week events who were all paid promptly.

A member of a popular student band, who worked at multiple May Week events, stated that, “For all of the gigs I had to send an invoice to all the balls and they all paid almost immediately,” with the exception of St John’s.

This comes in a wider context of multiple May Balls this year being forced to cancel due to financial issues coming from a lack of ticket sales.

It also isn’t the first time workers reported issues with payments - in 2022 Varsity reported on similar payment delays at Trinity Hall, King’s, and Homerton, alongside poor treatment of workers at Trinity May Ball.

A spokesperson for the St John’s May Ball Committee told Varsity: “Unfortunately, a small number of payments were delayed in error but have now been completed. We take our responsibility to workers and performers seriously and apologise for any inconvenience caused. Steps are being taken to review and strengthen our processes for the future.”

The senior treasurer of Trinity May Ball told Varsity, “This is a situation which we very much regret and not something which has happened in any previous year. This is not something which the May ball committee or myself has any control over.

“The college made a contract with a payroll company which was supposed to make the payments. We provided the relevant information about payments. However the college has not apparently responded to some queries the company has wanted answers to before payment could be made.

“I should say I have made advance payments to three people who had an urgent cash shortfall. I trust you will not make negative comments about the May ball committee,” they continued.

A spokesperson for Trinity College told Varsity: “Trinity College regrets the delay in payment to workers at this year’s May Ball. The College apologises to all those affected and as a gesture of goodwill is making a small additional payment alongside the agreed rate.”