Former Fairclough staff planning to sue building firm following collapse

A number of former Fairclough employees who lost their jobs when the company went into administration are set to take legal action against the failed construction firm.

The civil contracts specialist and builder based on Howley lane, Warrington has recently appointed administrators.

The move left 150 employees redundant across the company’s headquarter in Warrington and its office in West Yorkshire despite the company’s turnover of £38m last year.

Law firm Simpson Millar says it has started to get calls from affected Harry Fairclough employees, and has begun investigations to enable appropriate legal action.

The action will be taken over the company’s failure to properly consult staff regarding the mass redundancies.

Stephen Pinder, a specialist employment law Partner at Simpson Millar, said: “This is, undoubtedly, an incredibly difficult time for those affected and many will be attempting to understand the news and plan their next steps.

“We have been contacted by former employees who are looking to bring in claims for a Protective Award which would be paid out to those affected by redundancies where they have not properly been consulted.”

Pinder explains that a Protective Award is a payment awarded by an Employment Tribunal in cases where an employer fails to follow the correct procedure when making 20 or more redundancies and, where an Employment Tribunal finds in the favour of the employees, they will be able to access the funds via the Government Insolvency Service.

Simpson Millar’s employment law team is currently instructed by former employees affected by the collapse of J Rotherham Masonry.

Last year, the firm announced that it had secured payments on behalf of 103 ex-Mutiyork staff amounting to £300k.

The team are also pursing claims in relations to Mothercare.