Thousands stuck in limbo as Carillion job decisions slow

The futures of around 7,000 Carillion staff are still up in the air, with fewer than 120 workers from the failed contractor learning their fate in the past seven days.

A spokesperson from the Official Receiver for the collapsed construction and support services conglomerate confirmed the futures of just 117 ex-Carillion staff had been determined in the past week.

The spokesperson said: “Secure ongoing employment has been found for an additional 71 Carillion employees who have transferred to new suppliers. Close to half (47%) of the pre-liquidation workforce have now been found secure ongoing employment.

“Regretably we have been unable to find ongoing employment for a further 46 employees who will leave the business later this week.

“Discussions with potential purchasers continue. I am continuing to engage with staff, elected employee representatives and unions to keep them informed as these arrangements are confirmed.”

The 7,000 staff who are still in limbo have been retained to enable Carillion to deliver the remaining services it is providing for public and private sector customers.

Their future remains unclear until decisions are taken to either transfer or cease the contracts they are working on.

In total, 8,592 jobs have been saved and 1,582 jobs have been lost through the liquidation process.

When the previous staff update was issued on 12 March, there had been 1,536 redundancies as part of the liquidation, while  8,521 jobs had been saved.

Carillion employed more than 40,000 staff globally around half of whom worked in the UK. Its head office in Wolverhampton had around 400 staff.