Jilted staff claim bakery opened for free labour

Chloe Morrison, 28, said that staff "want justice and an explanation" over the handling of the firm's liquidation process

Former staff at a bakery and cafe chain have criticised the owners for keeping stores open for a weekend without telling them they were losing their jobs.

Twelve out of 14 of the Butterwick stores were shut on 22 September and 62 people were made redundant. Two of the stores in Northamptonshire remain open.

An insolvency firm acting for Butterwick said affected staff could make a claim for unpaid wages.

Chloe Morrison, who was manager at two branches in Market Harborough in Leicestershire, said her heart "shattered" when she was told she would not get paid at the end of the month.

She said staff had been told the owners filed for liquidation on 19 September "knowing they wouldn't be able to pay" wages.

"But they illegally opened their stores over the weekend to get free labour from us whilst being aware that they would make us redundant on Monday morning," said 28-year-old Ms Morrison.

Whether or not the company carried out illegal trading can be decided by liquidators during the winding-up process.

Butterwick also had branches in Milton Keynes, Rugby in Warwickshire and Retford in Nottinghamshire.

A private company - Business Recovery and Insolvency (BRI) - has been instructed to help with the closures and place Butterwick Bakes into voluntary liquidation.

The stores at Rushden Lakes retail park and St Giles' Street in Northampton will continue operating.

Fiona and Ryan Scarborough opened their first Butterwick store in Corby in 2019.

Butterwick will remain open at Rushden Lakes and St Giles' Street in Northampton

Insolvency support firm IPERA Services Limited - which is providing support to affected employees - led an all-staff video call after the closure news.

Ms Morrison said staff members felt "angry" because the owners kept their cameras off and stayed muted during the meeting.

"When they said you are not getting paid at the end of the month, my heart shattered; it was the anxiety of not being able to pay my rent, council tax or just live and it scared me," she said.

"I was sat with my camera on, and you could see I was visibly crying because I was so upset and angry at how it was all handled."

During this call, staff were told they would have to claim lost wages and holiday pay through the government – a process which could take up to six weeks.

Ms Morrison said the affected staff "just want justice" and an "explanation as to why this has happened".

'What family?'

Tia Andrews said she was employed to work at the Market Harborough stores just a month before the closures.

She says she has not yet received wages from Butterwick.

"They hired me under a month of them closing, so they knew about this when they took me on," she claimed.

"I got a welcome email to the company that said I'd joined their family and now I'm sat here thinking, what family?"

"We're thinking, 'Hang on, you've just fired us, and you can't talk to us about the situation?'."

Chloe Morrison said staff want justice

The BBC approached Mr and Mrs Scarborough and BRI for a comment, but neither responded to the claims about Butterwick stores trading after filing for liquidation.

A spokesperson for BRI explained that a government department usually steps in to pay employees who are made redundant due to insolvency.

"We can confirm that amounts due for wage arrears, accrued holiday pay and redundancy, where appropriate, and statutory notice pay, owed to the former employees of the business, will be paid by the Redundancy Payments Service and the claim process will be dealt with in accordance with the relevant legislation and official guidance," the spokesperson added.

"All of the 62 employees impacted by the redundancies have been contacted by IPERA Services Limited and the redundancy process was clearly explained to them at the meeting [on 22 September]."

Letters have been sent to staff explaining how they can make their redundancy claim, with an information pack, and have been told to contact IPERA if they have further queries - BRI said.

The liquidation completion date was set for 21 October.