Former staff of collapsed department store chain BHS have won a £400,000 payout due to “a complete failure to consult” on their redundancy.
According to The Times, an employment tribunal decision in London late last week ruled that proper process was not followed.
The tribunal also ruled that 110 former BHS head office employees will now be awarded up to 90 days‘ worth of pay.
The Government‘s National Insurance Fund will pay the staff the equivalent of up to 40 days‘ pay, up to a maximum of £3,800 each.
The remainder is due from BHS, but it is unlikely it would be paid in full.
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The legal team representing the head office staff at the tribunal said that although BHS had been put into administration it still existed as a legal entity.
The retailer should have consulted staff for at least 45 days before they lost their jobs as BHS went into administration, but many lost their employment with immediate effect.
The news comes as the one-year anniversary of retailer‘s collapse nears, with two thirds of BHS shops still not yet taken on by new tenants.
According to The Guardian, only 52 of the 164 BHS shops have been taken over by new retailers since the chain went into demise on April 25 last year.
While stores in London and other big cities like Leeds and Birmingham have been snapped up by Primark, H&M and Next, in smaller towns and cities – especially in northern England – former BHS stores remain vacant.
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