FORMER employees of an energy supplier that collapsed this week could take legal action over how their redundancies were managed, according to a law firm.

People’s Energy, which has an office in Selkirk, announced that it had ceased trading on Tuesday (September 14).

Law firm Simpson Millar says it has since been contacted by “several” former workers who claim they were not consulted over the job losses.

Anita North, an employment law expert at the firm, said: “Sadly, the collapse of People’s Energy has left many former employees out of work with little more than a moment’s notice, and likely worried about finding alternative work given the current climate.

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“Regardless of whether a company is struggling financially, they still have a duty under current employment law legislation to carry out a proper consultation with staff at risk of redundancies. Where that does not happen, employees can bring a claim for a Protective Award.”

According to the firm, a Protective Award is a payment awarded by an Employment Tribunal in cases where an employer fails to follow the correct procedure when making 20 or more redundancies.

A Simpson Millar spokesperson said: “Where an Employment Tribunal finds in the favour of the employees, they will be able to access the funds of up to £4,304 via the Government Insolvency Service.”

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Announcing the collapse earlier this week, a People's Energy spokesperson said: "We are saddened to inform you that People's Energy is ceasing to trade.

"Please rest assured that your energy supply is secure and all account credit balances are protected for our domestic customers. This includes any recent top-ups that were made as part of the seasonal weighting initiative.

"We are truly sad that we weren't able to make this community focused approach to energy supply work. Thank you to those of you who supported our mission from early on. We are very sorry about the inconvenience and disruption this will cause our customers."