Staff of the collapsed modular housing company House by Urban Splash are taking legal action amid allegations that bosses failed to properly consult them before making them redundant.
The Manchester-based company, which was demerged from Tom Bloxham’s regeneration giant Urban Splash in 2019, went into administration earlier this week, with staff told to go home during a company-wide video call.
Now, former workers have told lawyers they were not properly consulted over the job losses. Law firm Simpson Millar is investigating whether they are eligible to claim money via the government’s Insolvency Service.
As many as 160 staff were made redundant as a result of the administration, which is being handled by consultancy Teneo.
Lawyers have also urged those affected to get in touch if they want to join the legal action. Ex-employees have three months minus one day from when they were made redundant to make a claim.
Anita North, an employment lawyer at Simpson Millar, said: “We have since spoken to a number of people who have been directly affected as a result of job losses at the company’s Derbyshire factory, and we are in the early stages of investigating whether more should have been done to consult with staff.
She added: “Regardless of whether a company is struggling financially, it does have a duty under current employment law legislation to carry out a proper consultation with staff at risk of redundancy. Where that does not happen, employees can bring a claim for a Protective Award.”
A Protective Award is a payment awarded by an employment tribunal in cases where an employer fails to follow the right procedure when making 20 or more people redundant. If the tribunal finds in the favour of the workers, they are able to access up to £4,568 via the Insolvency Service.
House was a joint venture between Urban Splash and Japanese housing giant Sekisui, which owned 48% of the shares each. Homes England owned the remaining 4%. The modular housing group rolled its 1,000th module off the production line last month.
EG has approached Urban Splash for comment.
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