downsmail.co.uk
Cash for former mill workers
ALMOST 100 members of staff who worked at Aylesford Newsprint have been awarded a share of £750,000 for being dis- missed without consultation. However, because the Larkfield-
based company went into adminis- tration early last year, the workers may get less than half that figure. The workers, members of the country’s largest union Unite, are classed as unsecured creditors and will only receive £321,000 – although it could be boosted by the sale of the company’s land, expected to raise several million pounds. An employment tribunal decided
that the workers should receive an award because the company dis- missed 20 or more employees with- out proper consultation with their representative, in this case, Unite. In an insolvency situation, em-
ployees can claim up to eightweeks’ pay arrears capped at the statutory maximum (in this case £464 per week) from the Government’s re- dundancy fund. Unite regional officer Tim Elliott said: “The total value of the protec-
tive award to our members is about £750,000. However, as the company is insolvent it is unlikelywe will re- cover the full amount. The £321,000 will be paid to our members from the Government’s redundancy fund.
“The sale of the company’s land
will raise several million pounds so it is possible that our members may also recover additional cash on top of that paid by the fund, but it won’t be the full amount.” Eighty workers who were dis- missed on February 24, 2015, should each have received eightweeks’ pay. They are expected to receive about £3,700 each – a total of £296,000. Eighteen workerswere dismissed
on April 30 last year. As the 90-day protected period started on Febru- ary 24, theywere entitled to 25 days pay. These members should each re- ceive three weeks pay, which will amount to about £1,300 per person – £25,000 in total. Aylesford Newsprint fell victim of
the downward trend in newspaper sales and itwent into administration with a loss of more than 230 jobs.
News High-tech help for smokers
HARRIETSHAM health firm Bedfont Scientific is working on a high street gadget to help smokers’ quit as part of its focus on new technology. It follows the recent decision by the company, which produces exhaled
breath and gas monitoring instruments, to sell off its UK subsidiary NOxBOX to Praxair Gases UK, for an undisclosed sum. The NOxBOX range of products monitors and delivers nitric oxide (NO)
to patients suffering dis- eases including chronic obstructive pulmonary dis- ease. Staff working on these products will con- tinue to work from Harri- etsham, but under the new company. Bedfont’s managing di-
rector Trevor Smith, who is pictured with son Jason who is the company’s general manager, said: “This transaction will allow our company to focus on its core business in diagnostics using exhaled breath analysis, which we see as a tremendous opportunity in the future.” The business, which in 2014 had a turnover of £6m and exported 78%
of its products to overseas markets, says its new medical development di- vision, led by Trevor’s son Andy, will be looking at technology trends to supply user-friendly products not just to the health sector but to individu- als, for use at home. Krissy Sedge, from the company, said: “There are exciting times ahead.
Breath analysis is being described as the new blood test, providing non-in- vasive diagnosis for a range of symptoms including food intolerance to asthma control. “The sale of part of our business will allow us an opportunity to focus
more on the kind of products the public want, such as our new iCO Smok- erlyzer, which can record carbon monoxide results for those trying to quit smoking on amobile phone for their health advisor.”
14 Maidstone East April 2016
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