Ex-Caparo workers win £50,000 tribunal two years after factory’s collapse
Workers who lost their jobs when a Darlaston steel firm went into administration have been awarded nearly £50,000 after complaining they were not given enough warning.
Around 129 employees were left on the dole when Caparo Atlas Fastenings Ltd closed in 2015 after facing problems.
As a result the union Unite made legal claims for protective awards for the redundant workers at a Birmingham Employment Tribunal, after complaining the employers failed to carry out suitable consultations under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act.
Protective awards are the legal jargon for wages that are restricted by the Government to no more than £380 a week under the act.
Other Midland Caparo plants were also affected but the tribunal dealt only with those at Darlaston.
The tribunal was told that 129 workers were sent from Darlaston on October 30, 2015.
Unite accused the Caparo management of failing to comply with its legal obligations in keeping employees well informed about their jobs.
Consultation with the union and employees had been curtailed from the required 45 days to eight working days, it was said.
The firm said it had failed to find a buyer for the Darlaston site and had no option but to close. It said no protection awards should be made due to special circumstances and added that consultations had taken place.
Tribunal judge Mrs Pam Hughes, however, said she was satisfied consultations had not taken place for the required statutory period and legal claims had been well founded.
She said protective awards should be made by the respondents for all those at the Darlaston site for a period of 75 days.
The average total for each employee could be £3,500 or more – making a total of up to £50,000.
There were further redundancies at Caparo plants in Hartlepool and Wales.
