§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what contribution his Department makes to the administration costs of settling redundancy claims, holiday pay, pension schemes, etc., when his Department pays the redundancy liabilities of the workers of a liquidated company; and how these costs rate against the claims of unsecured trade creditors in settling the liquidation.
§ Mr. NichollsMy Department makes various statutory redundancy and insolvency payments to employees through the employer's representative, usually the receiver or liquidator dealing with the insolvency, who acts as the Department's agent. The Department pays a fee for this work. The general administration costs of the insolvency are recovered by the employer's representative from the proceeds of the insolvency in priority to claims by creditors. Statutory claims by employees are settled as soon as the employer's representative has processed them, normally within a few weeks of the closure of the company.