Discount retailer Poundworld, which went into administration earlier this summer following financial difficulties, is facing an Employment Tribunal challenge at the hands of more than one hundred of its former employees, it has recently emerged.
The company, which collapsed in June leaving more than 5,000 former members of staff without a job, has been accused of failing to consult with its employees prior to making mass redundancies.
According to a report in the Retail Gazette, a group of more than 180 ex-employees have come together to challenge the former supermarket chain over these alleged failings.
The law states that companies must consult with representatives within 90 days in instances where they intend to make 20 or more members of staff redundant – but the claimants mounting the challenge argue that Poundworld ignored this requirement altogether, and failed to consult with them at all.
A spokesperson on behalf of the claimants said that staff were “unaware that their jobs were at risk until just days before redundancies were announced.”
As a result of this, they believe they should be entitled to protective award compensation and are calling for up to 90 days’ worth of gross pay.
If the claimants are successful, the Government Insolvency Service will have to guarantee the award, as Poundworld itself has long since entered into insolvency.
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