Bubble Tea company goes bust
Bubble Bubble Co. on Exeter High Street has reportedly gone into liquidation.
A distressed employee contacted The Exeter Daily claiming that she would not be paid for her work as the company had become insolvent.
The employee had discovered the news after, having not recieved her wages, she visited the shop - only to find that it was closed with fixtures removed.
The mother of the 17-year old Bubble Bubble Co. worker said "They had done a moonlight flit job."
After contacting the company, the employee was told Bubble Bubble Co. had gone into liquidation.
She hadn't signed a contract, but only subsequently discovered that the company were in a pattern of hiring and firing employees without pay.
The employee in question is taking further action, but fears that it will come to nothing.
In the current economic climate, insolvency is a very real issue that has become more commonplace and something employees should be aware of. The Citizens Advice Bureau offer these simple steps to "knowing your rights":
If your employer is ‘insolvent’ this means it can’t pay its debts. You have rights if this happens and can make a claim for any money you are owed.
If you’re owed money, you can claim for it through the insolvency practitioner.
The business might keep running if there’s a chance it can be rescued or sold. If this happens, you might be asked to continue working.
This doesn’t affect your rights to redundancy pay if the business closes down later. If the business is sold to someone else, your employment rights are protected, including any pay that’s owed to you.
The insolvency practitioner will send you claim forms. If this doesn’t happen, you should write to them. If you’re not sure who they are, you can contact Companies House to find out. (0303 1234 500)
It’s not guaranteed that you’ll get everything your employer owes to you but you can claim for: redundancy, wages, holiday pay, statutory notice pay, unpaid pension contributions, basic award for unfair dismissal
Your statutory notice period (the minimum legal notice period your employer has to give you) is:
- a week’s notice if you’ve been employed for between a month and 2 years
- 2 weeks’ notice plus an extra week for each year you’ve worked if you’ve been employed for 2 years (this goes up to a maximum of 12 weeks)
You can claim for statutory notice pay if:
- you’ve worked your statutory notice period but not been paid by your employer
- you were dismissed without notice
- you don’t work your full notice"
The full guide is available here.
