Another 452 staff made redundant at Carillion

More jobs have been lost at stricken contractor Carillion with another 452 workers being made redundant, the Official Receiver has confirmed today.

The announcement from the body in charge of liquidating the construction and outsourcing group follows the loss of 377 jobs last Friday.

The Official Receiver said the latest job losses cover roles connected with private and public contracts across different parts of the country, as well as back-office functions.

Another 100 jobs, which are all linked to public sector contracts, have been safeguarded to add to the 900 posts protected last week.



A spokesperson for the Official Receiver said: “As part of the ongoing liquidation of the Carillion group, we have reviewed additional public and private sector contracts, as well as core divisions of the business.

“We can confirm that we have safeguarded a further 100 jobs and these roles are linked to public sector contracts.

“Most staff will be transferring on existing or similar terms, something I will continue to facilitate wherever possible as we work to find new providers for Carillion’s remaining contracts.

“Unfortunately, 452 posts are being made redundant.



“They cover a variety of roles connected with private and public contracts across different parts of the country, as well as back-office functions.

“We appreciate this will be a difficult time for those who have lost their jobs. Jobcentre Plus’ Rapid Response Service stands ready to support any of these employees by providing advice and information so people can move into a new job as quickly as possible.

“People who have been made redundant will also be entitled to make a claim for statutory redundancy payments.

“Our efforts are focused on the smooth transfer of Carillion’s contracts to new providers and we will continue to keep Carillion’s workforce updated as these arrangements are finalised.”



Carillion’s projects north of the border include the £745 million Aberdeen bypass, the £23m extension of platforms at Edinburgh Waverley station and the £11.6m electrification of the Shotts railway line.

The Unite trade union held crisis talks with affected workers at a series of meetings across Scotland last week.

It said there had been about 30 redundancies in Scotland so far, with notices given to staff on the bypass project on Friday.

While the GMB union branded the latest round of job cuts “callous”.



Rehana Azam, GMB national secretary, said: “Loyal Carillion staff are being treated with utter contempt by PWC.

“The receiver told the task force that central office staff would remain in place until April – then this morning we see almost 500 are being booted out.

“It’s not just the fact so many are being made redundant – it’s the callous way PWC are going about it which is so outrageous.

“Some people received emails on Saturday simply telling them not to bother turning up for work on Monday.



“Others have been given less than a day’s notice.

“And the ones that still have a job are in limbo – like some horrific zero hours contract they turn up to work each day not knowing if they’ll still have a job at the end of the day.

“Both the Receiver and PWC must follow proper procedure and consult over redundancies.”

Meanwhile a further package support has been announced for the businesses and workers affected by Carillion’s liquidation.



Through delivery partners that include all the major high street lenders, the British Business Bank will provide support to make available up to £100 million of lending to small businesses who may not have the security otherwise needed for conventional bank lending using its Enterprise Finance Guarantee programme.

This will be of benefit to small businesses including the chain of subcontractors to Carillion who may not have sufficient assets as security to access conventional loans. These guarantees can be used to support overdraft borrowing and refinancing of existing debt.

The UK’s leading banks have also furthered their commitment to provide support to those affected with UK Finance confirming additional support for personal banking customers concerned about overdraft, mortgage or credit card repayments, as well as further financial support for small businesses to provide short-term relief to help keep them afloat.

Business secretary Greg Clark said: “We want to signal very clearly to small and medium sized businesses who were owed money by Carillion that they will be supported to continue trading.



“The banks have responded to my request by agreeing to support businesses and individuals affected. This further guarantee will help those businesses who may not be able to provide the usual security for a loan.

“I will continue to work closely with business organisations, trade unions and banks to actively support those affected by Carillion’s insolvency.”

Keith Morgan, British Business Bank CEO, added: “The Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) is an important option for smaller businesses who need access to finance, but may not be able to meet a provider’s normal security requirements. To help in these exceptional circumstances, we have designed additional flexibility into EFG that could be particularly suitable for firms in the Carillion supply chain. We would encourage lenders to work with their customers to use these new flexibilities to meet their needs.”

This package is in addition to the more than £200m already announced by Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC and RBS.


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