Women sacked at surgery win £33k
Seven women sacked from a dental surgery just four weeks after it was taken over by a Shrewsbury company have won almost £33,000 in compensation between them.
The women were awarded between £1,500 and £9,000 each at an employment tribunal yesterday after Judge John Hoult, sitting at Mold Crown Court, ruled that HC1156 Limited was responsible for the ladies losing their jobs.
The settlements were agreed after negotiations between the ladies' solicitor, Tudor Williams, and Randy Sohnchen, a director of HC1156 company.
The group had all been employed by Pawel Kusmierek and Magda Karasiewicz, trading as the Llangollen Dental Practice in North Wales.
It ran into financial difficulties and was taken over by HC1156 Limited, which had links to a Shrewsbury company.
But within a month the company closed the place down and the women were told that the new company was not responsible for them.
Former practice manager Susanne Davies, said they were delighted and had felt very badly let down.
"Some women lost their homes and we all had bills to pay," she said.
Each employee worked for varying lengths of time with the original owners but it went into financial difficulties during 2011 and early 2012.
The court heard how dentists would not work because they had not been paid, tax and NI contributions had not been paid, and a bailiff turned up at the practice at one stage.
They could not buy stock or use laboratories, and the clinical waste company would not collect because they had not been paid.
There was an agreement to purchase the practice by The Velvet Group Limited and one of its subsidiary companies HC1156 Limited, on Clayton Way in Shrewsbury.
All the employees transferred to HC1156 Limited on March 5.
The court heard they were told that working practises could not change, they received one month's wages and staff appraisals were arranged.
They were assured things would carry on as normal but all employees were dismissed at a brief meeting on April 19.
Staff were asked to cancel patients that afternoon and then a short statement was read.
They said they had failed to reach agreement with the original owners, who they said were responsible for the staff.
HC1156 Limited denied responsibility for the dismissals.
Mr Sohnchen turned up at court but was not allowed to give evidence because neither he nor the company had filed any defence to the claim.
Mr Williams said: "All employees have lost their jobs as a result of a calculated cynical manipulation of financial resources."
