Ex-Longbridge workers have been awarded a £14 million compensation pay-out after MG Rover failed to consult them on redundancies, a tribunal has ruled. All 6,500 staff who worked at the factory will receive about £2,200 each in the next few weeks following the decision in Birmingham yesterday. The protective award, which has been guaranteed by the Government, follows the decision to axe staff without consultation in the aftermath of the Rover collapse. Michael Stokes, partner at Rowley Ashworth solicitors, brought the action on behalf of the Transport & General Workers Union, Amicus and GMB. He said: "The employment laws stipulate that if an employer makes more than 20 people redundant, they should consult the staff during a 90-day consultation period. "The workers are eligible for a protective award because the company did not consult, even if a company is insolvent like MG Rover. "The consultation laws are brought in to ensure companies talk to their staff, and soften the blow of compulsory redundancies." Normally the money should be paid by the company, but when it is in administration, it is guaranteed by the Government. The payments amount to eight weeks pay guaranteed by the Government at a maximum of £280 per week. It is additional to any redundancy payments or statutory notice and will be paid out by the Redundancy Payments Office, a branch of the DTI. Earlier this year, Mr Stokes won compensation for the 4,500 staff made redundant when Longbridge closed in April. Yesterday's payment applied to up to 1,000 staff who have lost their jobs since then. Mr Stokes said: "There are so many dismissals at the time, and we were catching up with people who have been made redundant since April. "This judgement applies to the staff grades who were dismissed in April and the production staff and the 80 apprentices who have lost their jobs since. "There were a number of dismissals in May, June and July. "There are about 200 people still working at Longbridge, and although we are hoping they are retained, the signs are they won't be, so we will pursue a claim for them when the time comes. "I think there will be at least one more hearing." Although the hearing was uncontested by MG Rover, or the administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mr Stokes said he still had to argue that smaller groups of workers deserved the right to be consulted. He said: "Ultimately this means all 6,500 workers at Longbridge will receive a protective payment. "When you multiply 6,500 by £2,200 you get £14 million. If MG Rover had some assets at the end of the insolvency we could get some of that as well, but that is looking unlikely. "The Government guarantees notice pay, redundancy and protective awards." Written judgements will be passed onto the redundancy payments service which would process them within the next few weeks, Mr Stokes said. "It will feel a great relief when the cheque comes through the letter box. "Anything like this to help them out can only soften the blow." Adrian Ross, the former T & G convenor at Longbridge, said: "This judgement proves that the workers must become priority creditors and administrators should consult with unions before laying off any workers." | 
