1,800 redundancies made at Rok

ADMINISTRATORS acting for stricken housing maintenance firm Rok have made 1,800 staff redundant, it was announced last night.

PwC said that after reviewing “the ongoing requirements of the business in light of dialogue with interested parties approximately 1,800 redundancies have been announced” from Rok’s 3,800-strong workforce.

The redundancies have been made in the maintenance and improvements division throughout the UK and also in the construction business in Scotland.

The administrators said 52 jobs would be lost in Yorkshire, where Rok has offices in Leeds and Wakefield.

Rok’s construction and social housing division in England remains unaffected as PwC looks to sell it.

Rob Hunt, partner and joint administrator at PwC, said: “Regrettably, the redundancies made today were necessary as it became clear in the last 24 hours that we were not going to be able to find a purchaser for these parts of the group.

“Operations cannot continue and hence we have had to take steps to close both the maintenance and improvements division as well as the Scottish construction division. We have retained a small workforce to assist us in this process.

“We have set up an employee relations helpline and are working closely with employees affected by this decision to ensure they receive the support they need during this difficult time to assist with their claims for redundancy and other compensatory payments. Staff affected by this will be paid for the period since we were appointed including today.

“As we have already committed, those employees who continue to be employed by the company and attend work will continue to be paid, as normal.

“We continue to maintain a dialogue with parties interested in the construction and social housing business in England. This division employs approximately 500 people and we expect to have further updates during this week.”

All staff remaining at the company have been briefed on developments.

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