SHOPWORKERS' union Usdaw has won compensation worth up to £1.5m for more than 500 employees of Ethel Austin who lost their jobs when the firm collapsed in 2010.
But the union is considering an appeal in a bid to win for compensation for another 1,200 workers who lost their jobs in February 2010 when the firm went into administration.
Usdaw said today that the Employment Tribunal in Liverpool found administrators MCR had failed in their legal obligations to consult with Usdaw before making 1,700 redundancies and awarded its members compensation of eight weeks pay, capped at £380 a week.
The compensation is limited to those employees made redundant from Ethel Austin’s former Head office and distribution centre in Knowsley and the company’s store in Edgware, London.
But the tribunal ruled that MCR was not obliged to consult about workplaces where less than 20 redundancies were being made, thus ruling out all bar one of the186 Ethel Austin stores that were closed. The union says it may appeal that judgement.
John Gorle, Usdaw’s national officer, said: “While the award can never fully compensate for staff losing their jobs, I’m sure our members will welcome the money and appreciate the effort Usdaw has made to secure this compensation for them.
“However, I’m bitterly disappointed the tribunal limited the scope of the award. The fact that many of our members won’t be compensated just because their store had less than 20 staff is plainly wrong and shows the gaping loophole and injustice of the current legislation.
“1,700 employees were made redundant from the same company for the same reason so to suggest only 500 of them constituted a collective redundancy is nonsense.
“Usdaw believe that the UK's current interpretation of the law on collective redundancies is both unfair and possibly a breach of the European Directive which seeks to protect workers in large scale redundancy situations. We are taking further expert legal advice and if we can appeal against the judgement we will do so.”
The Ethel Austin brand recently returned to the high street following the purchase of its successor company Life & Style by Ashloch.
