Lawyers launch tribunal claim for redundant City Link staff

Lawyers acting on behalf of more than 200 former staff of the collapsed parcel carrier City Link have announced that they are taking their compensation case to an Employment Tribunal. The delivery firm went into administration on Christmas Eve with the closure of 51 depots across the country and the loss of more than 2,500 jobs.

Carl Moran, an employment law partner at JMW Solicitors, has described how compensation is being sought on the grounds that City Link’s owners failed to properly consult with staff before shutting the business down. He said that because it was unlikely that there would be sufficient City Link assets to realise any damages owed, the action could leave the Government with a multi-million pound bill. Mr Moran added that as well the those cases already heading for a tribunal, his firm was still receiving new enquiries from ex-City Link personnel still unsure about what exactly they might be entitled to.

“Regardless of any redundancy pay or notice pay which they may already have received, all employees can also claim up to eight weeks’ pay for the company’s failure to properly consult with them.
“Former staff can make a claim no matter how long they had been employed. It appears that many individuals not only did not know that they need to make a claim for this compensation at a Tribunal but that they have only three months less one day from their date of dismissal to do so.
“Time really is running out for those people to join a substantial number of former colleagues who, like them, received no warning that they were going to lose their jobs.”

Mr Moran outlined how he has been in contact with City Link’s administrators and revealed that early conciliation through the conciliation service ACAS had concluded in “the vast majority” of cases being dealt with by JMW.

Even though the tribunal process is set to begin, Mr Moran indicated that it could be several months before a final hearing takes place.