Tribunal to examine ex-employee’s claim of being forced to work through furlough

Littleborough electronics firm at centre of employment hearing refute allegations

AN employment tribunal will be asked to consider the case of a worker whose union claims he was furloughed in April only to be forced to work - and later dismissed for raising concerns.

The Unite union is pursuing a claim for unfair dismissal, unlawful deduction of wages and breach of contract against Littleborough-based electronic firm Falconex Ltd.

The firm has refuted all of the union’s claims.

Unite claim the worker was told repeatedly that he was expected to continue to work for Falconex while on furlough despite that being forbidden by the law in place at the time.

They also say that the person was told in late May that he was ‘on the top of the list of any redundancy” and that they ‘would never consider re-hiring’ him ‘whatever the circumstance.’

Unite claims that senior management also attempted to intimidate workers from turning to their lawful trade union for support.

The union also claims that a memo was issued to all staff stating that contacting Unite was “clearly a break of trust” adding: “Using a third party, such as a union or a solicitor to enter a dialogue is seen as a direct threat to the business, and simply put, if you’re not working for Falconex, then you’re working against it.” Unite regional officer Dave Roberts said: “Our member raised entirely legitimate concerns about the legality of working during furlough but his subsequent treatment by his employers was shocking. At the time it was illegal to work while on furlough, a condition that Falconex appears to believe did not apply to them.

“Workers have an absolute right to consult and seek advice from unions about employment matters and Unite will always stand by members who ask only for decency and respect yet are treated with badly by an employer.”

Falconex had denied all of the union’s claims.

Managing Director Pascal Roux said: “Our position on the case is that we refute all Unite’s accusations.

“It has got NOTHING to do with abusing the furlough scheme.

“We never, ever forced the individual referred to in the case, to come to work (we never force anyone to do anything they object to do).

“Furloughed employees have all been paid 80 per cent of their wages through the scheme as well as a decent 20pc topping up from Falconex Ltd’s funds.

“[The worker] was eventually made redundant because we had to secure the future of the business, even when taking into account the furlough scheme. His position in the company was not deemed critically essential at that point in time for the foreseeable future.

“The memo sent to my 20 remaining colleagues at Falconex, once [he] had gone, are a private expression of my personal views at the time, and taken out of context.”

Mr Roux accused the national union of picking a ‘Goliath verses David’ fight with his firm.

He claimed the union was using a new, ‘disgruntled’ member of staff ‘to drive its agenda’ following ‘a couple of misunderstandings’ and accused it of trying to drive the company into an ‘out of court settlement.’

He also hit out at the union for making the dispute public,

He added: “I, Pascal Roux, managing director of Falconex Ltd, am proud to consider my employees as colleagues first and foremost and will always respect and listen to their point of view, their affiliation and their situation where we may need to accommodate to their requirements. We treated [the worker] fairly, decently, generously even, and, critically, within the law.”

The Industrial Tribunal said that a case has been lodged but no date had yet been set for it.

They advised that because of the pandemic and it could take up to 18 months for it to be concluded.