HL Deb 30 October 1985 vol 467 cc1596-7WA
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

The number of payments and amount of money paid directly from the Redundancy Fund to employees affected by insolvency of an employer in each of the years 1978 to 1984, and as far as figures are available in 1985; and the number of similar payments made out of the Maternity Pay Fund.

Lord Young of Graffham

Employees of insolvent employers may receive payments direct from the Redundancy Fund both under Section 122 of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 which deals with certain debts owed to them such as arrears of pay and holiday pay, and under Section 106 of that Act which deals with redundancy payments.

Payments under Section 122 were as follows:

Financial year ended No. of employees Amount paid £m
31.3.78 Not available 9.9
31.3.79 40,439 9.1
31.3.80 38,365 11.0
31.3.81 73,286 25.2
31.3.82 74,928 30.9
31.3.83 109,317 46.1
31.3.84 106,338 48.1
31.3.85 86,431 44.1

Redundancy payments under Section 106 are also made to employees whose employers cannot pay because of financial difficulty short of formal insolvency, or other reasons. The figures below include all Section 106 payments. Insolvency and financial difficulty cases are not recorded separately, but the department estimates that about 80 per cent. of these are made to employees of insolvent employers.

Financial year ended No. of employees Amount paid £m
31.3.78 29,247 14.6
31.3.79 22,275 12.4
31.3.80 26,256 19.3
31.3.81 50,068 42.2
31.3.82 58,274 53.0
31.3.83 74,980 72.3
31.3.84 66,661 69.1
31.3.85 51,706 57.2

Maternity payments are made direct to employees under Section 40 of the Act if their employer is insolvent or fails to pay for any other reason. The figures below include all Section 40 payments. Insolvency and other cases are not recorded separately, but the department estimates that about 80 per cent. of these are made to employees of insolvent employers.

Financial year ended No. of employees Amount paid £
31.3.78 19 2,106
31.3.79 17 1,814
31.3.80 16 2,508
31.3.81 30 (approx) 5,176
31.3.82 34 6,537
31.3.83 40 10,120
31.3.84 32 5,735
31.3.85 49 13,709