FORMER Woolworths workers were left “heartbroken” yesterday after their union lost a legal bid to secure them compensation. 

In January, 2012, Usdaw won tens of millions of pounds in compensation from the government for 25,000 former employees who were illegally sacked when Woolworths and Ethel Austin chains folded. 

But 1,200 Ethel Austin employees and 3,200 from Woolworths were denied compensation because they worked in stores with fewer than 20 staff.

Usdaw took their case to the European Union’s Court of Justice but the court ruled against the union yesterday. 

General secretary John Hannett said the workers affected were heartbroken.

“It is unfair and makes no sense that workers in stores of less than 20 employees were denied compensation whereas their colleagues in larger stores did qualify,” he said.

“There have to be questions asked about the conduct of government ministers, having sided with administrators, who acted illegally, against the best interests of hard-working, loyal and low-paid staff, by pursuing this case to the highest available court.

“We can now only pin our hopes on the election of a Labour government to prevent this happening again to other workers in small stores who are made redundant without proper consultation.

“Only Labour has pledged legislation so that in large-scale redundancy situations, workers from all workplaces affected will be treated as part of the same consultation.”