Construction firm criticised for axing staff via conference call

Construction Company ROK has come under criticism by the UCATT after claims were made that they notified some of the 711 employees facing redundancy that they no longer had a job, via conference call.

Rok entered administration on Monday 8 November following a serious of financial failings leading losses worth millions of pounds.

Today UCATT alleged that following the announcement of a further 1,800 redundancies, some workers had reported only finding out about the lay-offs via the media.

Alan Ritchie, General Secretary of UCATT, said:
“Telling workers by conference call that they are losing their jobs is both cruel and callous. It causes workers undue distress at an already incredibly stressful time.”

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He said workers hearing of redundancies via the media showed the “utter contempt that administrators and those still involved with the company have for the workforce. It is painful enough to lose your job, but not be to given due dignity and respect only increases the anger of workers towards the company and administrators. This is no way to treat workers in the 21st Century and the practice must be ended.”

He said the decision to make workers redundant could raise questions over whether the administrators have correctly applied redundancy laws, including the requirement to inform and consult staff before making large-scale redundancies.