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I'M Owed Pounds 17,000 By Troubled Dairy; Struggling Firm Faces Payout to 150+ Ex-Workers

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 December 2005, 09:00 CST

By GARETH BICKNELL

A DAD made redundant from a debt-ridden North Wales dairy yesterday claimed bosses owed him more than pounds 17,000.

But Terry Messham says he was offered just pounds 5,028 in statutory redundancy pay and in lieu of notice.

The dad-of-one from Flint now plans to take Mochdre-based Central Dairies to an employment tribunal to claw back the cash.

He is one of 150-plus former employees owed redundancy money by Central Dairies, which is part of Longslow Food Group. The company owes around pounds 4.5m to creditors.

The workers say they were given just two days' redundancy notice.

Experts handling the company's accounts said they would listen to pleas from workers over outstanding pay.

Mr Messham, 36, said the company's director Philip Crewe wrote to mediation service Acas acknowledging he was owed pounds 5,028.88.

He said: "The only figure Mr Crewe and myself agree on is pounds 2,240 redundancy pay for eight and a half years service."

He claimed he was also owed 90 days' payment in lieu of notice at pounds 7,560, backpay dating from October 25 to December 18 at pounds 1,960, plus 20 weeks' holiday pay at pounds 5,600, totalling pounds 17,360.

Mr Messham, a supervisor at the Station Road dairy, is now living with his sister while he sorts out his financial difficulties.

He said: "You wouldn't believe the stress I'm under. I've gone into debt and the hole's just getting bigger. I've had to borrow off a member of my family for Christmas."

He said he had never taken a day off despite his mother having battled cancer.

"I started working on the milk rounds when I was 12, so I've had 24 years' experience of the dairy industry," he said. "I've covered all the rounds, and I was very highly thought of by other managers. That's why I'm so mad about it."

James Martin, of corporate rescue firm Begbies Trayner, which is managing the Central Dairies' financial affairs, said he didn't have the specific details of amounts owed to Mr Messham.

He said: "We will be considering claims based on the information claimants provide us with and that provided by the company. There is no attempt to prejudice the outcomes of any hearings.

"The claims of all employees and other creditors will be adjudicated on by us as supervisors, based on information from the creditors and from the company's records.

"We will, of course, look into any disputes, and if there is a misunderstanding over an amount we will resolve that before any dividends are paid out."

Mr Martin urged any creditors or employees who had a dispute over the amount owed to contact Begbies Trayner.

At a meeting in Chester, 88% of Longslow Food Group's creditors voted in favour of accepting the company's offer of 50p in the pound by pledging its profits over four years.

No reason was given for the dairy's closure when it was announced in October, but the company was known to have suffered losses.

Plans to sell the 50-year-old plant fell through.

gareth.bicknell@dailypost.co.uk

Source: Daily Post; Liverpool

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