Laid-off staff from failed retail giant Debenhams say they are still waiting for redundancy payments more than three years after losing their jobs.
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) has blamed the delays on a struggling employment tribunal system which has yet to process the cases of 50 members waiting for what they are owed.
They believe they were unfairly made redundant without consultation when Debenhams closed its stores and they submitted claims for a protective award in 2020.
But it emerged this week that they – and likely many others without union representation – are still waiting for the employment tribunal to hear their claim.
Speaking in the House of Commons this week, Labour MP Chris Elmore said: ‘They’re owed thousands of pounds in respect of failure to consult before redundancy and it can’t be just that three years on they’re still no closer to receiving compensation.’
Justice minister Mike Freer pointed out that tribunals are operationally independent but pledged to investigate the cause of the delay.
A protective award is compensation that is awarded by the tribunal for up to 90 days’ gross pay, awarded where an employer has failed to collectively consult with a group of employees on proposed redundancies.
If an employer is no longer trading then former staff can claim for a protective award guaranteed by the government for up to eight weeks’ pay.
It has been reported that up to 800 former Debenhams staff are involved in two group actions led by the law firms Simpson Millar and SDM Legal. Similar claims in Scotland relating to Debenhams have already been resolved by its employment tribunal.
Paddy Lillis, Usdaw general secretary, said former staff of the retailer have waited more than three years for justice and the government’s response gave no indication the issue was going to be resolved soon.
‘Over the summer of 2020 redundancies were made by conference call, with no meaningful consultation or proper notice period, as required by law,’ he added. ‘Not only were the staff treated very badly in the first place, they are now enduring a long wait for the compensation they deserve.’
While lawyers say they have experienced delays in the employment tribunal, the government cannot produce statistics to show the reality. In its update on tribunal statistics for the first quarter of this year, the Ministry of Justice said it had received 8,100 single claim receipts and disposed of 9,000 in the final three months of 2022. There were 37,000 single claim cases open and the total outstanding caseload including multiple claims such as Debenhams was 440,000 – up by 10,000.
But the timescale for disposing of cases was not reported. The MoJ explained employment tribunals transitioned to a new case management system in September 2022 and it had not been possible to provide full results from both databases during this migration period on a consistent basis.
The MoJ added: ‘Jurisdictional breakdowns for disposals, timeliness and outcome data are still undergoing more rigorous checks and will not be presented until the checks are complete.’
Before 2022, average waiting times had risen every year for the previous six years. From January to March 2021, according to an MoJ written parliamentary answer, the average waiting time from receipt of claim to first hearing was 49 weeks. Ten years previously, the waiting time had been 30 weeks.
