The data, obtained from the Insolvency Service under the Freedom of Information Act by HR law specialist Nockolds, suggests that increasing numbers of employees are being left out of pocket.
A sum of £52.5 million was paid to employees for arrears of pay in the past 12 months, up from £29 million in 2021-22 and £13.7 million in 2020-21. A further £214 million was paid out for redundancy pay in the past 12-month period, up from £140 million and £169 million in the two prior 12-month periods respectively.
When businesses collapse into insolvency and are unable to meet their obligations to staff – most commonly wages and redundancy pay – employees can apply to the Insolvency Service to recover some of the money owed to them from the taxpayer.
