The 144 former employees were made redundant without warning when the company went into administration in January 2014.
In a case taken on behalf of the workers by solicitors Thompsons NI it was argued that the workers were entitled to a protective award as the company had failed to consult the workers prior to making them redundant. The industrial tribunal granted the protective award for all the workers who had made a claim.
As Mivan is insolvent the award will be paid by the Redundancy Payments Service and is capped at eight weeks pay. Each worker is likely to receive roughly £2,500 in compensation.
Andy Fisher, regional secretary for construction union Ucatt, said: “Dedicated construction workers, many with years of service with the company were dismissed without warning. It is only through the combined efforts of Ucatt and Thompsons NI, that these workers have been able to receive compensation.”
The decision to make the protective award paves the way for other former employees at Mivan to also claim compensation.
John O’Neill, of solicitors Thompsons NI, said: “While many of the ex-Mivan staff have now successfully brought such claims there are still around 140 such persons who have not brought claims. While this most recent decision of the tribunal potentially makes a similar award to these persons, they will not receive any such award without pursuing a formal legal process of making a claim to the tribunal. As there is a short time limit for any such claims at this stage, it is vital that any ex-Mivan employee who was dismissed on or after 17th January 2014 who has not already been part of any such claim and now wishes to do so should do so as soon as possible.”
The case of the initial 144 former employees was brought in the name of William Glendinning, from Newtownabbey, a Ucatt member who was a labourer with Mivan. He said: “As the senior trade union representative in the workplace, I expected that the employer would have consulted with us about the proposed redundancies which came as a complete surprise. This extra compensation is very helpful to myself and the others who lost their jobs with no prior warning and consultation, a number of whom remain unemployed or had to go abroad to get work.”
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