Union reassures Wilko staff they will be paid

The GMB Union has reassured Wilko staff that they will be paid by administrators. The union said that they had been informed  by a number of members that they have not yet received their pay which was due on the 25th of August.

In a message to members the union stated:

“Having raised this with PWC, they have assured us that all staff due to be paid will receive their money by the end of play. The reason for the delay relates to their use of FASTER Payments (which can hit your account at any time) as opposed to BACS (which would have gone first thing this morning). If this creates any problems with members in relation to bounced direct debits, you should contact the company in question and ask that they reapply for the money once you have confirmation that your salary had been paid into your account. If you find yourself being charged because there were not sufficient funds in the account at the point at which it was claimed, please get evidence of this and raise with your line manager in the first instance.”

The union also commented on redundancies and said that following a further meeting expected to be on Tuesday (29th) of next week, individual consultations on redundancy are unlikely to start until next Tuesday at the earliest.

The union also criticised the press for what they said was significant speculation, which was proven to be false and had to be treated with caution.

The union’s statement read: “Many of you will have seen there is still considerable press speculation about the situation and that various names are being put forward as potential buyers for parts of the business. At the time of writing, we have had no confirmation that any bids have been made and sadly cannot provide any update. Unfortunately, it is the case whereby a significant amount of press speculation so far has been proven to be false and therefore we must advise members to treat all such reports with caution.”

The union added: “If there are any developments, we will let you know as soon as we hear them. However, having last met the administrators on Wednesday afternoon, there are now no meetings scheduled until Tuesday morning (29th). We will update you of any developments as soon as possible after this meeting.”

The GMB union also clarified that for members in the Scottish Widows and People’s pensions, every penny of their pension is protected.

The union said: “These funds are held by the pension providers, and they will be able to give you an update statement of the value of your fund if you request one.

For members in the Wilkos defined benefit scheme, pensions administrators, Spence and Partners, have been appointed. As this scheme closed to new entrants in 2003, this will not impact on anyone who started employment after that date. For those of you in the scheme, the administrators are currently applying Pension Protection Fund rules. These ensure that as an absolute minimum, you will receive 90% of your expected benefits. A full assessment of the scheme will now be undertaken, and it is more than possible that the assets may be sufficient to cover all liabilities, meaning that any short fall could still be made up. This process will take some time, but scheme members can expect more communications on the state of the scheme as a clearer picture emerges. More information can be supplied to members of the scheme at either wilkopensions@spenceandpartners.co.uk or on 028 9521 0128.”