Redundancy hell. Help!!

Lizzy.S_2

On Wednesday the 5th of March me and 10 other staff members were told that the company we worked for would be shutting the following Saturday which was the 15th. Please note we were told this the day we were due to be paid our previous months wage!!:mad:

Our employers told us that if we stayed on till the following Saturday that would give them time to raise the capital to put the company into liquidation, in which then we could claim our 6 weeks wages, holiday and redundancy pay quicker from the government. At this point none of us argued as we saw this as the only option, other than walking out and getting nothing at all!!

However, on our last day an hour before we were shutting shop, we were all given written letters off our employers stating that they would not be putting the company into liquidation and that a third party was trying to 'wind up' the company. So at this point we were in no position to act upon it as we were minutes away from shutting the shop for good. We felt like we stayed on that extra week and half only to be laughed at!!

4 weeks on and we have put a claim into the government only to be refused a single penny, as even though the company/shop is shut, legally the company is still trading as the company hasn't been made insolvent. We are all stuck at a lose end and not sure where to go next, as there's seems to be no change with the company's status. And our old employers have vanished of the face of the earth and do not what to help in any shape or form.

Can anyone give us light at the end of the tunnel? What's the best option for us? Keeping in mind that there is a 3 month limit to claim of the government.

Also has anyone ever took a company to court and made them insolvent themselves? What are the costs of this?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the essay!!

marlot

Sorry ... don't know the answer to your questions, but didn't want to look in and run away without saying what a terrible situation and wishing you all the best for recovering your wages and finding a new job.

sax11

Only thing i can suggest is register on due dil and have a look at the companies current status

also look on https://www.thegazette.co.uk/ to see if there is any official announcement of a receiver/administrator - might be a starting point for you if there is a receiver.

Sorry i can;t be of any more help

marlot

I had one thought - does your house insurance include legal cover? When I was made redundant they were able to help me with specialist advice.

If you don't have it, one of your co-workers might?

CKhalvashi

The suggestions above are probably the best way to go.

Also, look at Companycheck, as this seems in some cases to be updated faster than Duedil.

CK

superbigal36

As 11 of you are all owed money. I am sure you could petition to have the place made insolvent.
Sure HMRC will also be interested as they will surely be owed money.

regprentice

Lizzy.S wrote: »

a third party was trying to 'wind up' the company. So at this point we were in no position to act upon it as we were minutes away from shutting the shop for good.

Also has anyone ever took a company to court and made them insolvent themselves? What are the costs of this?

Information on winding up

https://www.gov.uk/wind-up-a-company-that-owes-you-money/overview

Initial costs are around £1.5K without involving a solicitor.

You speak about a third party trying to wind up the business. if this is the case then they are 4-6 weeks ahead of you in the process so it may not be worthwhile trying while another conflicting action is ongoing.

I would imagine this first legal action triggered the frantic week your managers spent trying to 'raise capital'. I'm afraid i've had this experience as an employee before, and i suspect instead of 'raising capital' they were simply trying to scrape the cash together to pay this one debtor to cancel the legal action.

The 3rd party may continue with their action and make the business insolvent, or they may see the writing on the wall and stop the process now so as not to suffer any further legal costs if they do not anticipate being successful. Having been wound up HMRC will be first in the queue for money, then the bank if there are any loans/covenants. ...There is aways the chance that there is no third party and your employers are not being truthful.

I'm afraid it is difficult to predict how long this process would take. The only stipulation (assuming you are in England) is that an advert must be placed in the london gazette 7 days prior to the court date and the court will not hear the case without evidence that this advert was published. As such if there has not been an advert then the case is yet to be heard.

I would contact the CAB in the first instance for assistance, or people on this site often advise obtaining a 'free consultation' with a solicitor... some may be willing to offer an initial half hour or full hour consultation for nothing to give you a feel for the likelihood of success.

grey_lady

You need a lawyer - specialising in Employment Law and / or Insolvency, you've been screwed over and a legal professional is the way to go - a lot of them will give you a short initial appointment for free.

Lizzy.S_2

Thanks for all your help, unfortunately we are still no further forward! I think like you've said Regprentice, we've came to the conclusion that there probably never was a third party involved. I think if we get any money that is owed to us now it will be a bonus as the likely hood is we won't..

I just hope no other employees have to go through what we've gone through its just awful.

patman99

You and your fellow employees could always start a Claim in the Small Claims Court to recover the monies owed. When making the claim, make it against the company and each of the Directors.

Also inform Companies House that a legal case is now in process. This will prevent the company being made insolvent.