HBJ Gateley Wareing defends dismissal claims of Halliwells staff

HBJ Gateley Wareing – one of three law firms which took over part of failed Manchester firm Halliwells – is facing unfair dismissal claims from former lawyers over the redundancy process entered into as Halliwells was placed into administration.

A former property lawyer who worked for the firm in London has launched a claim against both HBJ Gatelely Wareing and the firm’s administrators claiming unfair dismissal as she was in labour at the time redundancies were announced and was not consulted properly.

Another member of the firm’s business support staff is also bringing a case forward arguing that they too were not consulted properly regarding their redundancy and were unfairly dismissed.

HBJ Gateley Wareing is understood to have been targeted as last week’s update from administrators to creditors showed that the collapsed Halliwells firm owes in excess of £200m to creditors – the bulk of which is to the former landlord of its Manchester office.

As a result, even if cases brought against the former Halliwells firm itself were successful, there is unlikely to be enough funds to cover any payouts  that would be granted by the courts.

The head of HBJ Gateley Wareing’s Manchester office, Rod Waldie, said the firm was defending both claims against it. He said one of the two staff who brought the claims was placed on notice of redundancy two months before Halliwells’ collapse while the other was informed on the day of the administration by administrators. As a result, he said, both are effectively legacy cases for Halliwells and will therefore fall within the remit of the administrators and its legal advisors.

Given the time limits in which claims have to be filed, the firm is unlikely to face any more action, he said.

“We’re desperately sorry that anyone lost their jobs but we feel the fact that there are only these two claims is testament to the fact that the process was handled properly,” he said.