STAFF made redundant from scandal-hit clinical waste firm Healthcare Environmental Services have appealed to their former employer to pay their lost wages after the Insolvency Service rejected many of their claims.
New calls have been made for government intervention after former staff of the Shotts-based firm which has shut down cannot claim lost pay.
Staff have warned that it could lead to hundreds of employment tribunals which would be a "huge cost" to the taxpayer and the company.
Just five days ago the Insolvency Service had said the workers could apply for redundancy payments - even though the firm has not yet declared an insolvency.
In guidance published on Friday, the service said it could pay a maximum of £508 a week to anyone who had worked for the company for at least two continuous years under a contract of employment.
It said it was in contact with the company about the information it needs in order to fast-track the assessment of redundancy claims.
The guidance added: "If the company enters into a formal insolvency process, you may be able to make an additional claim for money you are owed, for example wages, notice pay and holiday pay.
"If this happens we'll contact you to let you know."
Workers have since then been told in writing that they are cannot make claims for arrears of wages and holiday pay because they do not believe HES is insolvent.
HES which announced it had ceased operations after losing its NHS contract in Scotland and others south of the border served all it staff with redundancy notices two weeks ago.
The company told workers to claim statutory redundancy from the Redundancy Payment Service.
HES which has 350 staff across the UK, stopped serving the NHS in Scotland last month after being plunged into financial difficulty in the wake of allegations of stockpiling hundreds of tonnes of waste at its sites. It has steadfastly denied they included body parts.
The staff group, who call themselves Help Us Healthcare, have now joined together to made a direct appeal to the Pettigrews.
The former employees said: "We are collectively writing to appeal to you to take the morally right and legal action and pay us for the work we did on behalf of your business.
"Many of us have had to visit foodbanks over the festive period and for many Christmas was cancelled.
"We understand that you are continuing your fight with the UK and Scottish governments and we wish you well, but there are 350 people throughout the UK with families and responsibilities who have not been paid since 28 November.
"Several of us received notification from The Insolvency Service informing us that we were not entitled to receive any [payments]. The letter states that the company is still active and therefore we cannot claim for the money we are owed."
The staff have also asked the company's bank, HSBC, to clarify who took the decision not to release the cash to pay staff their December wages.
Local MSPs Alex Neil Neil Grey called on HSBC to release £300,000, which they say would cover the wages owed to staff.
An HSBC spokesman said: "We are sorry for what HES employees have experienced and sympathise with this difficult situation.
"However, we are unable to comment on the specific financial affairs of the company at this stage due to client confidentiality."
In guidance published on Friday, the Insolvency Service said it could pay a maximum of £508 a week to anyone who had worked for the company for at least two continuous years under a contract of employment.
The guidance added: "If the company enters into a formal insolvency process, you may be able to make an additional claim for money you are owed, for example wages, notice pay and holiday pay.
"If this happens we'll contact you to let you know."
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