In April 2020, Debenhams informed workers by email that the company was going into liquidation and that it would not be reopening its Irish shops. The former Debenhams workers started a picket outside the shops to seek a fair redundancy package. This picket lasted for over 406 days, demanding four weeks’ of redundancy settlement per year of service as had been agreed previously by Debenhams.The picket came to an end after large Garda operations dragged the former Debenhams workers off picket lines so the liquidator, KPMG, could remove stock. The strike was the subject of an acclaimed movie 406 Days.
Last April, the Labour Court ruled in a case brought on by former Debenhams worker Jane Crowe that the 'appropriate compensation is four weeks’ pay' due to the lack of consultation by Debenhams with the workers they were making redundant. Jane had been employed as a shop assistant with Debenhams for 24 years and was at the forefront of the pickets. However, the High Court has reversed this decision on appeal by Debenhams.
People Before Profit National Spokesperson Richard Boyd Barrett TD said 'Today's High Court decision overturning the Labour Court's ruling that former Debenhams workers should receive 4 weeks compensation due to lack of consultation is yet another abuse of these brave people by the legal system. The former Debenhams workers, most of them women, stood on the picket lines for 406 days to demand what was rightfully theirs. But they were frustrated, threatened and betrayed by the Government, by Debenhams and by the legal system at every turn.
'It is quite unacceptable that Debenhams controlled when the announcement of redundancies was made but now argues that circumstances beyond their control (Easter and Covid) justified delays in proper consultation. This sets a very bad precedent for companies seeking to avoid their legal obligations. They can now choose to time a major announcement in a way that limits employees’ ability to react, and then later use those same circumstances to avoid legal consequences.'
Employees bore the brunt of the impact twice, first, by receiving the devastating news at a strategically inconvenient time, and then by having their claim for compensation undermined by the very conditions that Debenhams created.
Richard Boyd Barrett finished by saying 'The ongoing abuse of the former Debenhams workers is an absolute disgrace. The least Debenhams can do now is pay the 4 weeks to workers as required by the Labour Court'.
