Arcadia employees press for legal action
Thousands of redundancies have resulted from the online-only nature of the brand’s takeover deals
Law firm Simpson Millar has been contacted by over 30 former Arcadia employees looking to press legal action against the retailer after their jobs were lost through the nature of the group’s takeover.
Last week saw Asos snap up Topshop, Topman, and Miss Selfridge for £265m, while online retailer Boohoo announced the acquisition of Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton a week later.
Both deals excluded the company’s physical stores, therefore resulting in redundancies for thousands of the group’s employees.
Simpson Millar is now in the early stages of an investigation to secure a “protective award” of up to eight weeks’ pay due to the lack of consultation employees received regarding the redundancies, many of which commenced on 4 February.
Damien Kelly, head of employment law at Simpson Millar, told City AM: “While some companies are struggling because of the pandemic, they still have a duty under current employment law legislation to carry out a proper consultation with staff at risk of redundancies.
“Where that does not happen, employees can bring a claim for a protective award.”
A spokesperson for Deloitte, the appointed administrator for Philip Green’s retail empire, said, via City AM, that it would be “inappropriate” to comment on the employee consultation process.
They added: “However, we absolutely recognise it is a very difficult time for all those impacted by the administration of the group.”
Retail Sector has contacted both Simpson Millar and Deloitte for further comment.
