Redundancy payments approved
Wednesday 25th March 2009, 2:59PM GMT.
STATES Members have backed a proposal to fund notice payments for every worker made redundant if their firm falls into administration.
Politicians spent almost three hours debating the proposition, lodged by Deputy Geoff Southern, before approving the plans this morning by 31 votes to 20.
The debate was watched by six former Poundworld staff who could be among the first Islanders to benefit from the proposition.
The new scheme will be back-dated to apply to every worker made redundant through the insolvency of their firm since 4 February.
• Picture: Deputy Geoff Southern
• Full report in tomorrow’s Jersey Evening Post
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the floodgates have opened!
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Headlines should read
RED GEOFF DIGS ANOTHER HOLE TO THROW OUR TAX POUNDS INTO
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this will make it a lot easier for firms to DUMP staff now just watch and see
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So every worker will get a hand out based on their current income, would not be fair otherwise, would it? Higher incomes pay more tax.
If my firm was to go insolvent it would cost the taxes payers alot more than any woolworths hand out.
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…And how much will all this cost us?
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Its about time big business over here were forced to come into the 21st century. They are making big profits on the backs of their workers, it is about time Jersey had a proper redundancy scheme so that those in need get their dues. If its good enough for the UK then its good enough for Jersey or is it a case of what one can get away with?
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Truly unbelievable! What more proof do we need that the JDA are dangerous to the long term future of this Island?
Potentially on the brink of many redundancies and reduced tax receipts – the tax payer could be paying hundreds of thousands. Southern says he’s a man of the people. Yet this will encourage firms to remove redundancy packages as they know the uncle States will pay instead. In other words the people will pay and not the corporations.
How many more civil servants are needed to administer this? Southern doesn’t know!
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More squandering of tax payers money. The companies employing the people should pay not the taxpayers.
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Firstly, being made redundant is without doubt extremely traumatic and I have experienced it and it sucks…… but nothing ceases to amaze me from our States members. Come on guys, employers should be legally forced to support their staff if redundancies are made, time and time again we have heard that UK firms will not offer payments to local staff who are made redundant, as they are not obliged to. Previous lack of political thought/willingness to have correct legislation in force to protect employees will turn and bite the Island.The tax payer should not foot this bill, another U-turn again and total madness…..can this not be an interim scheme until a new redundancy scheme is put in place putting the responsibility back o the employer………
Oh and by the way, where is the legislation to protect my hard earned cash that sits in the bank……I must of missed the relevant statute legislation when it was published.
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Busdriver quite correct big business(employers) should be forced to do the decent thing. However the States don’t like upsetting big business (employers) prefering to use tax payers money (from the workers) to pay for redundancies letting the employers off from doing what is morally right in the 21st century.
As per local bank deposits forget it. There is no protection and it is user beware. I have already brough this up with certain states memebers who don’t want to upset the apple cart prefering to take a gamble with our money.
So for those of you attacking the JDA get your facts right and attack the CoM and employers for not taking their responsibilities seriously and expecting the tax payer to carry the can. Once again we lag behind western democracies as regards human rights, workers rights and redundancy and bank deposit regulations. I ask who gains from this? I believe it is blatently obvious that it isn’t the workers or the tax payer.
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I’m sorry, but I think this is definitely the WRONG decision for the States to be making. I agree with #1 – Bean Dunover (lol) – they are setting a really dangerous precedent that allows such claims to whittle away at taxpayers’ money … which results in greater taxation for the already ailing masses.
I agree with #9 – Busdriver, when they say that it should be the responsibility of the EMPLOYER to provide for their staff, so a legislative approach to this is what was called for, not (forgive me as this is going to sound harsh but that’s what it basically is) a sympathy hand-out from the public’s purse. For the States to make such a pay-out lauds them but it’s the TAXPAYER that puts the money into their pockets in the first place for the mostpart …
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Again I agree with Busdriver – the best “solution” from this present arrangement would be for it to be made temporary, with a legislative solution being brought in as swiftly as possible.
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People should be given an option to pay into a scheme that will protect them against redundancy. This would finance itself, protect those who have taken responsibiltiy and not be a burden on the tax payer.
I for one will certainly not be voting for GS next time round. He is far too keen to throw my hard earned money away.
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Ha ha typical do-gooder, now all hell will break lose. A prime example of doing something without engaging brain. So what will happen now? I will tell you what, all the HR teams of local companies will say ‘oh so we don’t have to have a redundancy policy as the good old tax payer of Jersey will pay the redundancy for us’. So everyone will be forced to sign new contracts that have no redundancy policy in it. All I can say is well done Mr Southern, if there is anyone we can relie on to give our money away it’s you.
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Which begs the question why isn’t big business being forced to make redundancy payments by our government? Therefore I blame our government for being too soft on big business yet again. This is not Geoff Southern’s fault but the CoM’s fault. We wouldn’t be in this position if the CoM had acted before now. I even spoke to some of the key players, quite a while ago, as I was concerned if the economy went bad this could happen, however they told told me redundancy wasn’t needed over here as we were immune from these problems! They also said the same ref bank deposits! Does anyone think this is still the case?
I wouldn’t want to rely on the CoM in a crisis as they don’t appear to know what it means, or how to manage the tax payers money!
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Any States member, whom is subject to criminial investigation, should be suspended from the States, albeit on full pay,like any member of the civil service.Instead we have the extraordinary situation where such a person,a Deputy in the States, facing grave criminial charges of vote rigging, being permitted to continue to play a prominent role in States debate.Time that the States equally applied the rules of suspension that it has served on certain members of the civil service, to its own Deputies and Senators.If not, why not?
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Don’t we pay Income Support to those who are out of work. This is crazy, any respeciatable employer should have something in situe.I will certainly remember those states members who voted against and they are the ones I would vote back in.
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Scandalous! I’m a Jersey Bean get me out of here!!!!
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So I take it people are happy to be kicked out of their job with no redundancy entitlement like they have in developed countries? I also take it people are happy to have no bank deposit protection for their hard earned case.
The CoM are to blame for this state of affairs and I blame those voters who voted these people in. You are responsible for this. I do hope you will be the first to put your hands in your pockets to give money to people when they lose their jobs or their savings as it is your fault!
It is absolutely appalling that we have no redundancy or bank deposit protection over here. Who gains from this? It is big business and finance. Ordinary people can just go and whistle and beg the government to help them out by using their tax money! They then run the guantlet of other people who don’t like them getting what they should get under any decent law. I say to all those moaners, you sort out who you voted for (CoM) and get them to get redunancy in. It is your fault!
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