Disabled staff ‘pushed into gutter’ in redundancy row
DISABLED staff working for troubled JLR supplier Arlington Automotive Group “have been pushed into the gutter”, claims a union. Around 600 jobs are under threat at the supplier, which has bases in Birmingham and Coventry. Administrators from Duff & Phelps have been appointed to the group’s UK trading companies.
But the GMB Union claims 52 disabled workers are missing out on more than £1 million in redundancy payments.
It said one worker at the company stands to lose more than £56,000 in redundancy pay accrued over a lifetime of service. The GMB said at least 20 staff members were told they were losing their jobs over the phone with immediate effect, despite some being hearing-impaired or unable to understand what was being explained.
The union said that on Monday several hearing-impaired workers turned up for their scheduled shifts having received no communication about their redundancies. It branded the situation between Arlington and administrators Duff and Phelps as “dysfunctional” and said the automotive firm’s HR department only found out about the firm going into administration via the media. GMB organiser Becky Mitchell said: “Arlington Automotive is pushing disabled workers into the gutter.” In response the administrators said they would continue to have dialogue with the GMB and that consultation with workers was ongoing.
A spokesman for the joint administrators said: “Arlington Engineered Systems could not continue to trade as all of its customers had stopped placing orders due to coronavirus. In relation to those made redundant the joint administrators took steps to communicate with employees at the earliest opportunity to explain the impact of the administration on the ongoing redundancy process.
“In doing so, to ensure employees’ safety the joint administrators adhered to Government advice around social distancing when considering how to communicate with the employees and recruited a specialist firm in order to notify them and provide them with support in lodging their claims with the Redundancy Payments Service.”