£1m in compensation for staff of defunct bakery

Employees at Mortons Rolls will get the cash after winning a court case against the UK government over their redundancy payouts.

Bakers, drivers and factory workers were refused payouts after the government argued they had been transferred to another firm before Mortons collapsed.

Their lawyers, however, argued that they were in fact still employees of Mortons when the company went into liquidation two years ago.

Some staff will receive as much as £20,000.

Thompsons Solicitors Scotland supported 100 workers caught up in the administration.

Solicitor Paul Kissen said: “The men and women who worked for Mortons, many who had been there for decades, have really been through the mill. Firstly they were dismissed by the company’s previous owners in a way that saw them denied proper compensation.

“Then the UK government tried to deny their responsibility to the staff which held up compensation for almost three years. So this victory has been hard won and we are now going to secure another £500,000 in protective award money for the workers.

“This is cash paid out when a company enters administration and sacks people without consultation.

“I know that the combined amounts totalling well over £1 million will be of huge benefit to those who have suffered terrible hardship. Some long serving workers will be in line for payouts of over £20,000.”

One unnamed Mortons worker with decades of service said: “The way the company went into administration was heartbreaking. We couldn’t understand how a company this well known could treat its workers like this. We were dumped with no notice and no redundancy money.

“Then we had the UK government saying we were owed nothing so you had workers with families left with nothing. We’ve now won that fight in court and the combined compensation will be of huge benefit to us and our families.”