City Link trucks

Nearly 150 former City Link staff are preparing to take group employment action against the failed parcels carrier in the hope of receiving a larger compensation payout.

JMW Solicitors, the law firm handling the claim, told Motortransport.co.uk it has received enquiries from 144 former City Link staff, after it was approached by a former employee after the company entered administration on Christmas Eve last year.

“We have drafted the claim form, started Acas early conciliation, put the administrators on notice of the claim and are about to lodge it with the tribunal,” a JMW spokeswoman said. “We are acting for 144 people and the number is going up every day.”

JMW said all dismissed employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks’ notice pay, depending on their length of service, as well as six weeks’ holiday pay. If unpaid, these can be recouped from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

However, people formerly employed at a City Link depot with 20 or more staff can become part of the collective bargaining group, which will aim to receive further compensation of up to eight weeks’ pay from the government on top of the payment they are entitled to. JMW suggested that each member of staff could recover thousands of pounds in compensation depending on how the case progresses.

Last month, more than 2,500 City Link staff were made redundant with the closure of 51 depots, while a few were retained to help wind down the business (MT 12 January). Administrator Ernst & Young said it would write to those staff affected and offer guidance for the claims procedure for statutory redundancy payments.

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