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Previous Employer Trying Not to Pay Unfair Dismissal Claim

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I wonder if anyone knows what can be done when someone wins an unfair dismissal case and their former company is ordered to pay the former employee a sum of money but the company then refuses to pay?

The services of a bailiff to recover the money have been engaged by the former employee but, as soon as the company got wind of this, the company moved premises and changed its name. However, with a little Googling of the directors names they were found and the bailiffs visited this new company instead. The company have replied to the bailiffs to say that they rent their offices and all of their equipment is rented too (and enclosed evidence) so there is nothing recoverable.

What are the former employee's options now? Is it likely that they will never be able to recover the money owed to them? What can they do to get the money? They need it!

If all is lost, maybe they should just file a Creditor Bankruptcy Petition?

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of what can be done in this situation?

Thank you!

Comments

  • MrsPBikerChick
    MrsPBikerChick Posts: 77 Forumite
    edited 31 May 2013 at 12:06AM
    Enforceability depends to a large extent on who the original judgement is against. Is it against Company X Ltd, who have now sneakily transformed themselves into Company Y Ltd, or was it against Joe Bloggs trading as Business X? If it was the former then options may very well be limited as you can only enforce against Company X Ltd. If it was the latter then the debt is enforceable against both Business X and Joe Bloggs, so it survives a rename of Business X to Business Y as it is also personal to Joe Bloggs.

    Having said that, if Company X Ltd has rented its offices and all its equipment to Company Y Ltd then it must still be in existence in order to be the landlord and the debt is enforceable. It doesn't matter if they're not actively trading if the company still exists as a legal entity. For that reason it would also be worth consulting Companies House to see if Company X Ltd has been officially wound up and removed from the register.

    I assume the judgement is for more than £600 so my suggestion, assuming it can be enforced against the correct legal entity, would be to see about getting a writ of Fieri Fascias, also called a Writ of Execution, from the High Court (costs about £60, which is recoverable with the original judgement debt, and is a paper exercise) and getting HC enforcement officers in. They have rather more powers of persuasion than bailiffs.

    EDIT: just looked again at your post. If all Company X Ltd has done is register a change of name of the business without actually winding up the original company and setting up a whole new one then I think - but am by no means sure - that the new name does not invalidate the debts of the company but that they are novated to the new name. Again check with Companies House exactly what they've done and go back to the bailiffs (or consult a HCE officer) with the results.
    I don't like chick flicks, I get grazed knuckles doing my own car repairs and I ride a massive cruiser motorbike. To many this makes me a bloke in disguise but to my husband this makes me perfect
    :A
  • Thank you so much for that information, much appreciated! :)
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