redundancy and administration

[judster]

Hi, 2 colleagues and myself were called into the office 15mins before finishing for the wk end 21nov 08. We were told due to current financial problems of company would have to make us redundant. We were given letters stating our redundancy package which consisted of 12wks notice and a final lump some. We were told we did not have to work our notice and our wages would be paid in as normal each week, and then after the 12th wk our redundancy would be paid. Over the wk end the company moved premises and had set up a new company (prior to us being made redundant) and put the existing company into administration. We were not told this and had no idea what was going on in the background. They kept on some of the staff, who were doing the same/similar jobs as us but did not have as longer service with the company as us. It now leaves us filling forms in from all over the place and waiting for the administrators to sort out whats left of the company. We will now receive substantially less notice pay from the government as their is a sealing of �330 pwk.and have to wait upto 6wks to re ceive, we were earning 2 to �300 pwk more than this. Is this legal and what can we do to retaliate??

[voltr4m4x]

I'm not altogether clear as to whom you lay the finger of blame here...whether you are blaming the government, the liquidised company, or the official receiver.
If the defunct company have gone into administration, as you seem to suggest, then the official receiver will be responsible for selling off the assets in order to clear any outstanding debts in the first instance, and the "vague promise" of any compensation which you allege is due to you becomes null and void if indeed there is no money left in the "kitty".
It is a very poor state of affairs, I know, and it is of no help to you in these circumstances - indeed I sympathise with you and your current situation - but thousands of other able-bodied and highly competent workpeople are suffering the same plight in this unprecedented downtown in the global economy and I appreciate it may be hard for you to be on the receiving end of it. But there is little anyone can do except to advise you to take what is now on offer to you and try to re-enter the jobs market yourself.
From my reading of your post I cannot say that your former employers have acted with any criminal intent.

[buildersmate]

Agreed, Volt.
They may well have wished to pay you a decent package.
However if they have reneged on that because they ran out of money, you are simply another creditor - albeit one with some preferential right to your wages.
However your 'right' to redundancy payments if the org simply has run out of money is paid by the Government's redundnancy fund. And it will only pay you at the �330 rate.