Help-Link axes 60 jobs with more cuts to come

The Leeds-based business, which had turnover of £73.5m in the year to March 2014, confirmed 60 of its 459-strong national workforce lost their jobs in December 2014.

The Yorkshire Post believes that a further 50 positions are set to be cut in the coming weeks.

Help-Link confirmed further redundancies could be made but said it was unable comment on the number of jobs now at risk.

A spokeswoman for Help-Link and NorthEdge Capital said: “The management team at Help-Link is in currently in consultation with employees and therefore cannot pre-determine the outcome of the consultation.”

Help-Link “continues to respect employees” and all actions have been taken in line with proper HR practice, she added.

Help-Link was founded in 1998, offering boiler installation and maintenance services. It received an £11m investment from NorthEdge Capital in 2013.

At the time, managing director and co-founder Mel Butler told The Yorkshire Post that the firm had an ambitious growth plan that included growing to around 1,000 employees by 2016.

Last April, Help-Link acquired insulation specialist Miller Pattison and launched its Help-Link Home brand to reflect its wider service offering.

The redundancies come as Help-Link addresses issues around the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the firm’s spokeswoman said. The ECO was announced by the Government in 2013 and places legal obligations on energy suppliers to deliver efficiencies to home users.

The delay of the latest round of ECO has led to delays in the “arrival of anticipated volumes” to 2017, the representative said.

She said: “Help-Link had committed significant investment in the people and infrastructure required to deliver contracts with the required volumes on the original timetable and is taking proactive measures to ensure that it remains flexible enough to adjust to unexpected changes in the marketplace.”