FORMER Worcester Warriors players have been awarded compensation after an employment tribunal following the club’s collapse.
Following the demise of Warriors as well as similar events at Wasps and London Irish, all players, plus non-playing staff, were made redundant with no notice.
The Rugby Players Association (RPA) brought forward employment tribunal proceedings on behalf of 167 of its members to pursue claims for protective award compensation regarding the players’ redundancies.
The tribunal proceedings were held for former Warriors players in January.
Judgments were issued in the players’ favour, who were awarded the highest possible amount.
This was due to the clubs’ failure to consult with their employees before making the redundancies.
The payment of the protective award compensation will be made by the National Insurance Fund.
Murray McCallum, former Worcester prop, said: “I can’t appreciate the efforts from the RPA enough, for continuously fighting for the players long after sudden redundancy at Worcester Warriors.
“Rich Bryan and the team securing the protective award claims for us players is greatly appreciated by everyone and provides a crucial financial safety net, as well as some stability, for all of us and our families after a very rough time.”
RPA’s Player Welfare Director, Rich Bryan, added: “The compensation is capped and so players will not receive all of the money owed to them by the clubs and nothing can fully compensate players, staff and fans for what was lost but we hope this compensation will, in some way, help the players.”
