Around a dozen former staff at retail firm Made.com have instructed a law firm to take legal action on their behalf, after being informed they were losing their jobs during a Zoom call.
On 9th November the company went into administration, leading to the loss of around 320 jobs - in addition to 79 staff who had resigned, were working their notice and who were asked to leave immediately.
Made.com - which was valued at £775 million only a year ago - has been put into the hands of administrators PwC, who confirmed earlier in the week that there would be 320 redundancies, with only 74 staff staying on to help them wind down the business.
The company had been bought by fellow retailer Next - run by Lord Simon Wolfson - however the deal only included Made.com's brand, website, intellectual property and customer database, but not their staff.
The staff who have decided to proceed with legal action have instructed law firm Aticus. They will file a protective award claim against Made.com which is compensation awarded by an Employment Tribunal if an employer did not go through the consultation process before making redundancies.
Made.com could defend against the protective award claim on the basis that there were 'special circumstances' that made it impracticable to consult but a successful appeal could see staff receive compensation of a maximum of 8 weeks’ pay, capped at £571 a week.
Aticus Law Employment Law Specialist Mohammed Balal stated:
“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.
“Given that the brand has been bought but not all of the people will be retained, many staff members will have had their lives turned upside down, and they are no doubt feeling anxious and concerned about the future.”
Administrators PwC have also warned that up to 12,000 customer orders will not be fulfilled due to production problems.
