MPs have urged the insolvency watchdog to reveal the cost of The Body Shop’s collapse to taxpayers.
The moves comes after The Telegraph revealed that taxpayers will shoulder the redundancy costs for hundreds of employees following the health and beauty specialist’s administration.
Around 500 roles have been axed since The Body Shop’s collapse, with affected workers told to make claims through the Government-backed redundancy payments service – which is funded using National Insurance contributions.
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Liam Byrne, chairman of the business and trade committee, penned a letter to the Insolvency Service, pressing for clarity on the redundancy costs and the number of eligible workers affected by The Body Shop’s collapse, the Telegraph reports.
Byrne queried whether FRP, the administrators who assumed control of The Body Shop’s UK operations in February, are under investigation for any suspected “breaches of the redundancy procedures”.
Byrne also raised questions over why some employees were only notified of their sacking at a “moment’s notice”.
The Insolvency Service has until March 23 to provide answers to his question.
Byrne has said that The Body Shop is part of a larger inquiry into the influence of private equity on the retail sector.
The Body Shop fell into administration back in February, sparking mass store closures and job losses.
FRP was drafted in to oversee the process, just three months after the retail chain was acquired for £207m by German buyout specialist Aurelius.
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