Dozens of 'angry' employees at former warehouse in Northampton left 'frustrated' over Christmas redundancy chaos

Dozens of ‘angry’ and ‘frustrated’ employees at a former warehouse in Northampton say they are still waiting to be paid after being made redundant a week before Christmas.

Employees at Principal Mailing Solutions in Gladstone Road, Kings Heath were suddenly made redundant a week before Christmas 2023.

Five months later, no administrator has been put in place which would then allow them to claim for money owed, according to former employees.

They say the director of the company, Philip Brooks, needs to sign off on the administration but that he has not been seen or heard from since Christmas.

Sandra Usher, aged 64, had been working at the site for 24 years and was planning on retiring in two years’ time.

Mrs Usher said: “We’ve just been fobbed off all the time saying ‘administrators have been put in place’ when they haven’t.

“I’m very angry. Working for a company for that length of time then just one day being told don’t come tomorrow because we’re going into administration.

“We’re all being told not to do anything, don’t contact the company, that an administrator is taking over, but they’re not. It’s very frustrating. No one knows if we’re going to get paid. Everybody is at the end of their tether. No one knows which way to turn and who to turn to because there seems to be no-one out there that can help any of us. We’ve all tried to contact the supposed administrator, FRP Advisory, only to be told different stories.

“I’m owed thousands. I’d estimate around £5,000 – £6,000. I’m only part time, it’s the full time workers I feel sorry for. It’s not easy for them. It’s all held up because apparently the director Phil Brooks hasn’t given any information to FRP, is what we’re being told.”

Former employee Becky Freeman says former employees are ‘panicking’.

Ms Freeman said: “We’re all panicking at the moment. I’ve phoned FRP Advisory for the past three months and no one has ever got back to me.

"I was there for four and a half years, some people have been there for 20 – 25 years.

"We get six months to claim. Time’s ticking away and we’re not hearing anything.

"We’re all owed redundancy, a month’s wage for December, holiday etc. It’s thrown a lot of people out. People are struggling from this.

“It’s frustrating. There’s been no communication whatsoever.”

This newspaper contacted FRP Advisory, who said ‘we’re not in a position to respond at this stage’.

According to Companies House, Philip Brooks’ attempt to strike the company off was suspended in January 2024. When this action is suspended, it means that the process of striking off the company from the registry has been halted or paused. This could be due to various reasons such as ongoing legal proceedings, an appeal against the strike-off action, or any other administrative reasons.

Principal Mailing Solutions has been contacted for comment.