Redundant Shearings staff launch legal action following company’s collapse
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June 3, 2020
Workers who lost their jobs when coach holiday provider Shearings went into administration have begun the process of taking legal action against the company amidst allegations that it failed to properly consult staff when making redundancies.
Shearings Holidays was one of the most prominent coach tour operators in the UK, around 2,500 jobs have been lost following its collapse with a significant proportion at its headquarters in Wigan.
A number of those ex-employees have now instructed employment law experts at Simpson Millar to begin investigations to enable legal action to be brought in order to secure a Protective Award – a payment awarded by an Employment Tribunal in cases where an employer fails to follow the correct procedure when making 20 or more redundancies.
Where an Employment Tribunal finds in the favour of the employees, they will be able to access the funds via the Government Insolvency Service.
Aneil Balgobin, an employment lawer at Simpson Millar, comments: “Sadly, the collapse of Shearings has left many employees out of work with little more than a moment’s notice and unable to find alternative work given the current climate.
“However, while some companies are struggling as a result of the government’s lock down rules, they still have a duty under current employment law legislation to carry out a proper consultation with staff at risk of redundancies. Where that does not happen, employees can claim for compensation.
“To that end, we’ve been contacted by several former Shearings employees and are now investigating whether there are grounds to pursue a claim for what is known as a Protective Award on their behalf.
“If successful the legal action could see them compensated by up to 90 days’ gross pay, albeit capped at £4,304 given that the company is in administration.
“To be entitled to this, formal legal action must be brought against Shearings and an Employment Tribunal Judgment obtained which will rule on whether there was a failure by the employer to follow the correct procedure when making the redundancies.”
