9:21am Monday 9th February 2009
By Owen McAteer
AN MP’s call to make administrators legally bound to let Jobcentre Plus staff into firms where there are planned redundancies has garnered cross-party support.
Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson put down an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons two weeks ago after discovering administrators at several companies in the region would not let in the centres’ staff.
The motion states that, “Denying employees access to Jobcentre Plus from day one is shamefully short-sighted, and ignores the future welfare of employees.”
Fifty-five MPs have signed the motion, including members of the Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democratic, Scottish National Party and Democratic Unionist parties.
Employment Minister Tony McNulty has also asked to see examples of administrators not allowing the service in.
Mr Wilson said: “We need to make sure that administrators allow access to Jobcentre Plus.
“I know administrators do an important job with creditors, but in some cases 100 or more staff are laid off, some of who have worked for a firm for 20 years.
“It is the human capital I am interested in, to make sure they are treated the right way.
“I am urging the Government and Insolvency Service to toughen up the rules. Some administrators do it and some don’t when they all should be able to do it.”
Mr Wilson has spoken to Employment Relations Minister Pat McFadden, who has responsibility for the Insolvency Service, about the matter.
He will meet R3 – the Association of Business Recovery Professionals – this week.
He has also written to all the main trade unions encouraging their members to get involved.
Employers are not required to work with Jobcentre Plus in redundancy situations, although they are legally notified of redundancies involving more than 90 members of staff.
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