Abacus Care (Cheshire) claims it was forced to fold

5:30pm Friday 14th September 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By James Wilson

THE owner of a care firm which collapsed two weeks ago has said he is considering taking legal action after believing his company was forced to fold.

Abacus Care (Cheshire) Ltd provided home care services to residents in Knutsford, and ceased trading on Thursday, August 23, after getting into financial trouble.

It was part of a franchise of the national firm Abacus Care Ltd, which has a total of 26 franchises.

High Legh resident Christopher Barral, director of Abacus Care (Cheshire), held a meeting for staff who had been made redundant at the Orford Hotel in Warrington on Thursday – which the Guardian was invited to.

At the meeting he said: “There’s a lot going on at the moment and I’ve contacted George Osborne, who is my MP, and my lawyer has said I have case, but obviously I can’t go into it,” he said.

“I’d been told that the payroll was safe, but then it was ‘bang’ and we were shut.

“I have a background in nursing, and we never put the clients in danger.

“Most of our carers have got jobs, but it’s the office staff who haven’t. Different companies have picked up the carers who were working for us.

“We loved our staff and valued them, and that’s why they’ve got jobs.”

Former Abacus Care (Cheshire) employees contacted the Guardian after finding out that Mr Barral had taken over the Orford Hotel.

Mr Barral said the money was his own and none of the company’s cash had been injected into his new venture.

Comments(1)

angrybird000 says...
6:46pm Sat 15 Sep 12

Mr Barral held a meeting for staff. What he didnt say is that only 6 members of staff turned up. That is because staff were disgusted and extremely angry at being told we were out of a job via an email. We were then told further lies that we would be paid the following week if we returned company property. All lies. we were again told via text that no wages would be paid. All of the staff are owed large amounts of money in back pay and holiday pay and are struggling to make ends meet whilst he enjoys his new career. To invite staff to his new pub and tell them the first drink was on him was insulting to say the least. The staff got new jobs because they are good at their jobs, not because he employed them.

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree