Former Phones 4u employees win redundancy pay after two years

General view of a Phones 4u shop in Nottingham. Credit: Tim Goode EMPICS Entertainment/PA

More than 400 former employees of Phones 4u have won around £1.4 million in redundancy pay, more than two years after the firm went bust.

The money comes after a number of ex-employees took the firm to an employment tribunal, because it failed to consult staff before making mass redundancies. More than 400 former staff members will get around £3,712 each, from the Redundancy Payments Service. This is funded by the taxpayer.

Timeline of Phones 4u collapse:

  • Phones 4u collapsed in September 2014.

  • More than 550 stores closed overnight.

  • 2,500 staff were made redundant.

  • Around 2,000 other staff were re-employed by Vodafone, EE and Dixons Carphone, which took over around 350 of the closed stores.

A Phones 4U shop with its shutters down after the retail chain went into administration. Credit: Philip Toscano PA Archive/PA Images

Under UK employment law, an employer must collectively inform and consult with employees when it proposes to make 20 or more employees redundant.

The Protective Award, made at the tribunal in Birmingham last week, is paid in addition to any redundancy and notice pay.