Crewe & Nantwich MP says he is pressing administrators for clarity over unpaid wages for employees who have lost their jobs after the closure of Nantwich engineering company Gilks.
Nantwich News revealed last week how Gilks (Nantwich) Ltd announced it was going into administration after more than 60 years of trading.
The decision left 105 people facing redundancy, having been informed of the news via a Teams call.
Days later, staff say they even received a payslip – but no wages.
Employees say they have been told they must now apply individually to the Insolvency Service for redundancy payments.
Staff contacted local Nantwich councillors Geoff Smith and John Priest, stating they had not been informed about the remuneration of unpaid wages and needed clarity regarding redundancy entitlements.
The councillors brought the case to MP Connor Naismith.
Now he has written to the administrators FRP Advisory to press the need for assurances on the status of redundancy payments, outstanding wages, and access to information.
The Redundancy Payments Service was also contacted as the government body responsible for processing payment requests.
Mr Naismith also wrote to the government’s Rapid Response Service to request dedicated redundancy support be made available to all affected employees in the area.
FRP Advisory responded to the request confirming that all employees had since received communication outlining the process for submitting insolvency and repayment claims, including a redundancy payments factsheet.
Mr Naismith said: “Going through a process like this is extremely destabilising, particularly where you have some employees who have worked at Gilks for many years and received the news with no warning.
“The most important thing is that residents now have the clarification they needed over the repayment process.
“I’ll ensure that employees get the right support in transitioning to future employment and encourage them to contact my office if they experience any further issues.”
One worker who received a payslip but no wages told Nantwich News: “It was like a Bullseye moment – look what you should have been paid but didn’t get paid!
“It was just rubbing salt into our wounds.”
Terrible news. Won’t the employees be able to make a claim via the Government’s Redundancy Payments Service (RPS)?
I feel extremely sorry for the staff that have been loyal to the firm,
This is a very distressing situation not knowing what, or how am I supposed to say to my family to support them best.
I’m sure there is jobs out there but it’s never the same.
When you have work with friends and colleagues for so long you build a trust in one another, your a team a family of workers.
Situations like this I’m afraid are on the increase, but as usual you give all you can and your last on the list to be seen as the back bone of the business.
I hope and pray that things will improve and there is a new horizon out there for you.