A children’s charity has been ordered to pay a total of £166,000 to 21 staff members after a tribunal heard claims including unfair dismissal, breach of contract and unpaid holiday wages.
Parc (Essex), which provided services for children with additional needs and their families, told employees that they no longer had jobs and would not be paid when the charity closed in June 2022.
The tribunal heard no dismissal notices were issued nor did the staff receive P45s.
Chris McCann, the charity’s former chief executive, told the tribunal that the organisation was being placed in voluntary liquidation, the BBC reported.
He added that the charity had lost its funding and that the entire workforce had been made redundant when it ceased operations.
Parc’s management and trustees did not contest the claim at the employment tribunal in East London.
The tribunal awarded sums ranging from £231 to £18,320 to claimants.
But Chris Frisbee, a former health and safety officer at Parc, told BBC he doubted it would be easy for claimants to get hold of the money, “if it’s able to be got at all”.
According to the last annual report submitted with the Charity Commission, the charity had an income of approximately £615,000 in the year ending in May 2020.
A spokesperson for Essex County Council said: “Following Parc’s closure, the council and some of its providers worked quickly to ensure there was alternative provision for the 140 families impacted.
“One year on and we have now recommissioned the short breaks clubs and activities offer, which mobilised across Essex in April 2023.
“This is being received well by children and young people, who are enjoying what is on offer.”