Nuvia faces £100k redundancy bill

A DOUNREAY contractor is facing a six-figure bill after being found liable to pay redundancy to 16 former long-serving shift workers.

The ruling against Nuvia Ltd follows a hearing into a dispute over the termination of their employment at the site at the end of May last year.

The Unite union, which represented the men at an industrial tribunal, has welcomed the outcome though anticipate an appeal being lodged.

Cheshire-based Nuvia maintained it had no responsibility for the workers after the end of its safety surveillance contract at Dounreay’s prototype fast reactor.

Backed by their union, the men – most of whom had spent their working life at Dounreay – claimed they should have been taken on by site operator DSRL.

Nuvia sought to establish that at least some of the roles carried out by the workers continued after they had left. DSRL denied this was the case and insisted that transfer-of-employment rights should not apply.

In the newly issued findings of the tribunal, which met in Wick last November, Nuvia has been found liable to foot the redundancy costs of the six supervisors and 10 operatives.

The panel found that DSRL had not breached the employment rights of the workers, who previously worked for the UK Atomic Energy Authority.

Unite official Lyn Turner said the workers have been innocent victims of a dispute between the two companies.

He said: “They were made unemployed through no fault of their own.We’d call on Nuvia to do the honourable thing and pay our members caught up in this debacle what they are due so this matter can at long last be laid to rest.”

Mr Turner, the union’s regional industrial officer, said he understood Nuvia might well lodge an appeal against the ruling.

This, he said, could prolong the proceedings for up to a year and cause further hardship for the former workers.

Had the ruling gone against DSRL, the latter would have been responsible for meeting a redundancy bill, rumoured to total £1.3 million.

Mr Turner said: “Nuvia was found to be responsible for meeting the redundancy payments so we hope they will now do the decent thing and pay up.

Most, if not all, the individuals have found work elsewhere.

A Nuvia spokesperson said it is consulting with its legal team and has yet to decide whether it is to appeal.