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CONSTRUCTION workers hailed a major victory yesterday after hundreds of sacked staff were awarded compensation by an employment tribunal in a dispute lasting more than four years.
Maintenance fitters employed by construction firm Connaught were abruptly made redundant in September 2010 after the company went into administration.
Connaught held a multi-million pound contract with Norwich City Council to carry out repairs on council houses.
The tribunal found that Connaught had failed to consult the workforce before making redundancies, and awarded the workers the maximum payment of 12 weeks’ wages.
But the 200 workers, represented by construction union Ucatt, will not receive the full reward as Connaught is now defunct.
They will instead receive 8 weeks’ pay by the Redundancy Payments Office, capped at £350 a week.
The success comes after a hearing last year found against the workers, dismissing their claim that redundancy damages should have been covered by the companies who took over contracted services from Connaught.
Ucatt had argued that staff should have been transferred under the provisions of Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (Tupe).
The union’s eastern regional secretary Brian Rye said: “This has been a very long and protracted fight for justice.
“I am delighted that these dedicated workers, who were sacked without warning, will now finally receive compensation.
“Ucatt has always promised that it would win justice for the former Connaught workforce and we have delivered on that promise.”
Around 1,400 Norwich-based workers lost their jobs when Connaught went into receivership.
