Swindon workers dumped by a national kitchen company when it plunged into administration last year are taking it to court.

Staff at the Swindon branch of Optiplan Kitchens in Greenbridge Industrial Estate were shocked after suddenly being told to go home and that they no longer had jobs at the end of November.

It quickly became clear that the company with 13 showrooms nationwide had gone under, and that staff around the country had been told the same thing.

Kroll was then appointed as the administrator for the failed business in December.  

But now employment law firm NuaLaw Solicitors is preparing a claim for a group of former employees who say they were not consulted before the dismissals and that this is a breach of their employment rights.   

If successful, the claim is worth a gross sum of up to £4,500 per employee. 

A spokesperson for NuaLaw said: “Following the administration of Optiplan more than 100 of the workforce were made redundant without any warning.  Most of the remaining employees have also now been dismissed.

“When a company intends to dismiss more than 20 employees within a 90-day period the company is obliged to consult with staff for at least 30 days before any decisions are made to dismiss. 

“The insolvency of a company is not a defence to a claim that consultation has not taken place and whilst the company is unlikely to have sufficient funds to pay compensation the first £4,500 of any compensation is covered by the Redundancy Payments Service.

“We are instructed so far by just over half of the workforce and will be taking the first steps in bringing a claim this week.

“We are hoping to hear from anyone else who has been dismissed by Optiplan although there is a deadline of three months for anyone who wishes to bring a claim.”

In a statement provided to employees to let them know about the job losses at the time, Optiplan CEO Jason Limbert told them that there was no viable alternative.

He said: "Despite taking action to restructure the business in April [last] year, escalating utility costs and further material cost increases have eroded the benefits that were achieved from this.

"Given the ongoing economic challenges with seemingly no end in sight to the high levels of ongoing inflation, we have reached the conclusion that there is no viable alternative to this action."

Any former employees of Optiplan who were made redundant are encouraged to contact NuaLaw via 01789 722 666 or 078900 53519, visit www.nualaw.co.uk or email nuala@nualaw.co.uk