Former staff at the now defunct European arm of international firm King & Wood Mallesons have accepted a settlement from the firm’s administrators over the way their redundancy was handled.
Around 200 ex-workers at the firm will receive eight weeks’ pay after they were let go without being consulted for the required length of time.
The firm’s administrators Quantuma confirmed there had been a ‘technical breach’ of a consultation process on axing staff before the European arm of the firm went under in January.
Earlier this month the Gazette reported that staff had been offered the eight-week pay-outs, which could result in some staff being handed up to £3,832. Payments will be capped at £479 per person per week.
Regional firm Herington Carmichael, which is representing the claimants, said it has now applied to the tribunal for a judgment. This is expected to be published in the coming days.
Before making more than 100 redundancies at any one time, employers are obliged to enter into a formal consultation process of 45 days before the first dismissal.
Quantuma said last month that although KWM had commenced and undertaken a consultation process this had concluded early due to the firm entering administration. As a result, there was a technical breach in the required duration for the consultation.
KWM’s European arm, the product of a merger between Australian-Chinese firm King & Wood Mallesons and UK-based SJ Berwin, finally collapsed into administration after months of uncertainty in which several partners and their respective teams jumped ship.
Herington Carmichael said it would not comment until the judgment was published.
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