Payment to Director

[DCFCOK]

I was made redundant in 2007. My letter stated that the company had no funds and would cease trading with immediate effect. The company, (I was advised, in a meeting with the nominated insolvency practitioner), would be placed into immediate liquidation. I was told that there was no possibility of the business being rescued. The company was not in fact placed in liquidation for nearly six months. In that time some assets were sold to a competitor and some staff re-engaged. I was not offered any alternative employment. Negotiatiosn to sell the business had apparantly been going on for some months prior to my redundancy. I received statutory redundancy but due to the weekly earnings cap I am owed substantial wages, holiday pay and notice pay. What can I do? What claims and on which party?

[terambulan]

All seems drastic action by the company to be rid of you. Whatever brought all this on?

[buildersmate]

I will attempt to answer the employment law issues, rather than comment on the business liquidation ones.
1) The business was required to give you your period of notice prior to the date of redundancy, or pay you fully money in lieu of notice. This is no different a situation between a director or a non-director being declared redundant.
2) At the date of redundancy, you should have been due holiday entitlement of the number of days in line with your employment contract (or money in lieu of holiday). I suggest you pursue this with the liquidator/administrator.
3) Although it seems that you were harshly treated based on what you have said, if the company has paid you statutory redundancy pay of the correct amount, there was no obligation of the liquidator/administrator to pay you more (apart from that outlined in 1 and 2 above). The only recourse you had was to attempt to claim for unfair dismissal (in that the job was not redundant as per the letter sent to you). However the time limit for such a claim has passed (since you were declared redundant in 2007).