Boss RE:SRA making an intervention order - Firm closed from tomorrow. - Devastating e-mail received

[ladyh0]

Thank you.  I have just done the calculation and was pleasantly surprised with the amount of uc I will get.  I have also done the redundancy calculation and based on age, length of service, accrued holidays, 3 months notice pay and almost a month of extra days worked while rest of staff on Furlough I will get a fair amount.  We are just waiting to hear if boss is going to pay this months salary and redundancy before making any applications 

 

[Manxman in exile]

When you contact SRA, also ask them if they know what will happen to you and your colleagues in regards redundancy pay.  (It looks as if in cases of intervention they may take control of all the firm's assets).

 

They'll probably say ask your employer, but it's worth asking them anyway

[ladyh0]

So SRA have confirmed intervention as of today and co worker who lives near office said there are people there taking out boxes of files.  SRA told me ex boss is responsible for pay, references etc and he must contact us to deal with these issues.  It also appears that he is intending to appeal the decision !!  

[Manxman in exile]

Hope he won't do a runner then.  Has he a holiday home in Spain?

 

I'm only partly joking.  I was born, brought up and worked in what is now euphemistically called a "low-tax area", and I've seen a lot of funny things from lawyers and accountants.

 

If you've worked for this firm for so long you must have contacts with other local firms of solicitors.  If I were you I'd be ringing around everyone I knew to see if there's anything I ought to be doing to safeguard my position from an employment law/redundancy point of view.

 

I don't want to worry you unduly or be scaremongering, but I'd be wondering how far I ought to be worried.

[ladyh0]

That was my next job and I am just waiting for a few call backs.  Haha No holiday home and he is almost 70 and knowing him as I do am sure he won't do a runner.  The Firm does extremely well and hence so does he !!  What we all want to find out is if redundancy is paid from Firms account or by him personally.

[Manxman in exile]

Good luck

[ladyh0]

So I have received a bit of legal advice but not much more than I already know as solicitors wanted in the region of £300 for more in depth advice.   Not heard anything else from ex boss even after a chase up email was sent to him by co worker.  Am extremely stressed as don't know where to turn.  I cannot afford legal advice and come the end of the month i won't be able to pay my bills      

[London1971]

Straight on to universal credit. Don’t worry about what you might or Might not get in future, as it will re adjust.

 

If you have a mortgage, call them and ask for a holiday. 
 

Also once you have got UC eligibility , you will be entitled to a significant council tax reduction .

 

If you have kids under 18, you might be entitled to Child benefit too. You would not have been getting any before if you were on more than £50k pa

[Manxman in exile]

23 minutes ago, ladyh0 said:

So I have received a bit of legal advice but not much more than I already know as solicitors wanted in the region of £300 for more in depth advice.   Not heard anything else from ex boss even after a chase up email was sent to him by co worker.  Am extremely stressed as don't know where to turn.  I cannot afford legal advice and come the end of the month i won't be able to pay my bills      

 

That's disappointing.  You've worked in the local legal community for nn years but you can't find anyone willing to give you a bit of free advice!

 

Was your principal the only qualified solicitor in the firm?  Or were there any legal execs?  Is there no-one else there you can ask for informal but qualified advice?

 

Try your local CAB and I'd also try ACAS for advice on how to proceed.  (ACAS probably not really relevant but I'd be adopting an ask everybody I can think of approach).  Some law firms will offer 30 minutes free legal advice - are there any where you live?  Or is there a Law Centre or a university with a law dept that is offering a law clinic at the moment?

 

What would concern me (and I'm sure is concerning you) is bottoming out who is responsible for paying any redundancy owing to you.  Is it the principal personally or is it the firm (whose assets have been seized by SRA?)?  I'd ask SRA again.

 

AIUI there is a government safety net that pays out statutory redundancy awards if the original employer cannot afford to do so, so you should be alright.  I don't know the details of it, but obviously there's likely to be a further delay to any pay out.

 

Do as London1971 says and bang in a benefit (or whatever it is these days) claim ASAP.  Who knows when you may get any redundancy award.

 

[I really don't want to unduly worry you but I'd be a bit concerned - sole practitioner; accounting irregularities; SRA intervenes; you can't contact the principal.  Keep trying to get hold of him; make a benefit claim; ask as many people as you can think of for advice]

 

Hope everything works out good for you.

[honeybee13]

Redundancy payments if a firm is insolvent, for example, are the responsibility of the National Insurance fund AIUI.

 

Here's a link to government information on insolvent firms.

 

https://www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is-insolvent/your-rights

 

HB

[London1971]

Universal Credit got such a bad name, and a lot of people in serious trouble are dismissing it. It’s actually pretty good.

[Manxman in exile]

Contact the people suggested by Honeybee and explain your predicament.

 

What I would particularly want an answer to if I were you is:  "What happens if the employee is entitled to a redundancy award but the employer does not pay it for reasons other than insolvency etc?".

 

What I'm getting at is what happens in the (probably unlikely but still possible) event that the principal does a runner with the money he has left or simply refuses to pay.  Does the NI fund safety net referred to by Honeybee come into play, or would you have to sue the employer through the courts.

 

See what I mean?

 

[EDIT:  I'm really not trying to alarm you here.  I'm sure it's highly unlikely your ex-employer will do a runner - you must trust him if you've worked together for years - but there's no point pretending it can't happen and you ought to be prepared for the worst]

Edited July 8, 2020 by Manxman in exile

[honeybee13]

Manxman, I'm wondering if the SRA should be giving more information if they've taken over the firm's finances.

 

HB

[Manxman in exile]

Well you'd expect them to be more helpful, wouldn't you?

 

I suspect the problem* may be that they see the OP as asking for "legal advice" - which no doubt they cannot provide.

 

I don't know what the OP has actually asked them, but they could try:  "You the SRA have intervened at the firm of solicitors I work for.  You have done blah blah blah...  Can you explain what will happen next in this process/procedure and how long it should all take?  I'm concerned about my redundancy entitlement.  I'm not asking for legal advice - just an explanation as to what will happen."

 

Something like that.

 

*I also suppose that while they are investigating, everyone at the firm may be under some sort of suspicion.

[Manxman in exile]

Think I'm more surprised OP can't get more (or even some!) support and informal advice from people in other firms - even just as a favour.

 

It may be a case of "Have you heard?  Old so-and-so's been hauled up by the SRA.  Steer well clear."

[ladyh0]

Hi guys.  Not been back for a few days as I have been trying to get as much information as possible.  Firstly, many thanks for all the advice you have taken the time to give me.  

I did manage to speak to a solicitor I know who gave me some good advice on the different options and said he was happy to help me but at this early stage we would need to know what route had to be taken before he could advise me further.  I emailed ex boss mid week basically asking what was happening, details of redundancy package etc and no reply.  I have been in regular contact with my co workers and it seems he is only talking to one co worker and has told her he is insolvent and we will here from the insolvency company so at least I can make a claim for redundancy.  I have done the government calculation and based on the 20 years service, holiday pay, pay in lieu of notice and unpaid wages I am due quite a bit.    The solicitor I spoke to also indicated that as well as redundancy I could make a separate claim against ex boss via tribunal for unfair dimissal  so I may look into this.

On a positive note I made a claim for UC on Wednesday   and London1971 you are right, the application process was very straight forward, i had my phone interview on Thursday, uploaded all documents and got my award notification the following day.  Am receiving a payment on Tuesday  

It also appears that word has got round and I have received a few messages from legal acquaintances asking me to send my CV.  I will keep updating but I cannot thank you lovely kind people for all your help and support so far xx 

[Manxman in exile]

Well done.  I'm glad you've managed to get some help from a solicitor and also that other firms are showing an interest in your CV.

 

Good luck and yes - keep us up to date.

[ladyh0]

So, ex boss has finally replied after another email sent stating unacceptable that not heard anything and he apologised !! and said he was seeing advisors tomorrow.  Have said if dont hear from him by end of week then will go down tribunal route.  On a different note, the solicitor that dealt with the intervention has called me on 3 occasions this week asking for "advice" on some of my files ( I deal with family law) re client contacting about updates etc and he wanted me to update him to pass information...stressing me out          
 

 

[stu007]

Hi

 

As he is claiming to be Insolvent and taking advice you need to read up on your rights as an Employee.

 

The Insolvency Practitioner for your Company will be appointed by the Courts if that is the route your employer is now taking.

 

Your Company/Business is NOT Insolvent until it has been sealed by the Court and an Insolvency Practitioner Appointed by them.

 

When they are appointed they look into everything the Employer has done i.e. assets, income, outgoings, employees, creditors etc.

 

Everyone should be informed by XYZ Insolvency Practitioner  that they have been appointed for said Company/Business and what to do once they are appointed.

 

Couple of links:

 

https://www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is-insolvent

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/insolvency-service

 

A link to keep a good eye on (ensure you have the company/company number) to see what is processing with you company is the 'The Gazette'

 

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/

 

Go down the webpage and check 'Company Profiles' & 'Insolvency'

 

 

 

 

[London1971]

9 hours ago, ladyh0 said:

So, ex boss has finally replied after another email sent stating unacceptable that not heard anything and he apologised !! and said he was seeing advisors tomorrow.  Have said if dont hear from him by end of week then will go down tribunal route.  On a different note, the solicitor that dealt with the intervention has called me on 3 occasions this week asking for "advice" on some of my files ( I deal with family law) re client contacting about updates etc and he wanted me to update him to pass information...stressing me out          
 

 

So tempting to bill him for the advice , I bet

[ladyh0]

On 14/07/2020 at 10:05, London1971 said:

So tempting to bill him for the advice , I bet

Or ask him for a job

On a more positive note I got an email from ex boss late last night to say that he had been in meetings most of day with advisors who are now putting in place arrangements for our redundancy packages to be paid and we should hear from them in the next few days so fingers and toes crossed   

[fkofilee]

Excellent I hope you get what you are due and everything works out. 

Keep your chin up...  

 

Also one other thing - We do all this for free - We'd love if you could donate a small amount to us when you are back on your feet? 

[ladyh0]

1 hour ago, fkofilee said:

Excellent I hope you get what you are due and everything works out. 

Keep your chin up...  

 

Also one other thing - We do all this for free - We'd love if you could donate a small amount to us when you are back on your feet? 

Oh I will definitely will.  As soon as  I get my redundancy.  You guys have been great, even if you couldn't give legal advice you gave practical advice and, more importantly, lots of support

[ladyh0]

So, I have received a letter today from an insolvency practitioner and he has entered into a creditors insolvency liquidation    so have applied online today for redundancy via RPS.  Hoping it wont be so long before I get settlement.  

[Manxman in exile]

Good luck