Made.com staff taking legal action over ‘appalling’ Zoom redundancies

Around a dozen employees have instructed law firm Aticus to pursue the legal challenge after being made redundant on Wednesday, despite the business being bought out of administration by retail giant Next.

It means that staff could receive eight weeks pay in compensation, capped at £571 a week, if the claim is successful.

The furniture retailer’s collapse will result in hundreds of job losses, with administrators PwC confirming 320 redundancies on Wednesday.

Mohammed Balal, an employment law specialist at Aticus Law, said: “Despite the concerns raised about the rights of employees to fair consultation over redundancies, it would appear that the employees at Made.com are the latest to be let go with immediate effect as their employer enters into administration.

“Given that the brand has been bought but not all of the people will be retained, many staff members will have had their lives turned upside down, and they are no doubt feeling anxious and concerned about the future.”

The law firm will pursue a Protective Award claim against the online retailer, which is compensation awarded by an employment tribunal if an employer fails in its duties.

Mr Balal said he was expecting to get a flurry of calls in the next few days after a dozen staff came forward after being made redundant over video platform Zoom.

Mr Balal added: “The Protective Award is a vital safety net for so many families in fast-paced redundancy situations that often leave them with no source of income and absolutely no notice.”

People hoping to receive the payment must list their names and job titles as part of the claim, and cannot “watch from the side-lines” while former colleagues take the legal challenge forward, he said.

A spokesperson for the administrators PwC said: “It is with real regret that redundancies have to be made. The terms of the deal to buy the company’s brand, website and intellectual property did not include staff or stock.

" We understand that this is an incredibly difficult time for affected staff. We will continue to support those affected at this difficult time, including assisting the HR team’s efforts to secure staff new roles.”