By Leah Montebello
Staff are taking legal action against Made.com after being told they would lose their jobs over Zoom yesterday afternoon.
About a dozen employees have instructed law firm Aticus to pursue the legal challenge after being made redundant after the collapsed home retailer was bought out of administration by retail giant Next.
Former chief exec Nicola Thompson, who took over the top spot this year, apologised to those impacted by the company going into administration, stating that the firm had “fought tooth and nail” to avoid this outcome.
She said the world of stable demand for goods and reliable supply chains had “vanished” and “we could not pivot fast enough”.
PwC said there will be 399 job losses, with around 300 redundancies made this morning from its 573 headcount.
If the claim brought by Aticus is successful, staff could receive eight weeks pay in compensation, capped at £571 a week.
Aticus Law said that it is “appalling” that companies had not learned lessons from the P&O Ferries scandal earlier this year, which saw nearly 800 employees lose their jobs on the spot and replaced by agency staff.
Mohammed Balal, an employment law specialist at Aticus Law, said: “Despite the concerns raised about the rights of employees to fair consultation over redundancies, it would appear that the employees at Made.com are the latest to be let go with immediate effect as their employer enters into administration.”
The law firm will pursue a Protective Award claim against the retailer, which is compensation awarded by an employment tribunal if an employer fails in its duties.
A spokesperson for PwC said: “It is with real regret that redundancies have to be made.The terms of the deal to buy the company’s brand, website and intellectual property did not include staff or stock. We understand that this is an incredibly difficult time for affected staff.
We will continue to support those affected at this difficult time, including assisting the HR team’s efforts to secure staff new roles.”
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