ARPM fall-out continues as former employee wins cash claim
Ash Residential Property Management went bust last year owing creditors £1.48m but it must now pay a former employee several thousand pounds.
The consequences of property management firm ARPM’s collapse continue apace with a former employee being awarded nearly £4,000 in back pay.
Ash Residential Property Management went bust last year owing creditors £1.48m. This included £36,000 to employees, £602,169 owed to trade and expense creditors, bank and investor loans totalling £560,00 and £40,000 to HMRC.
Staff are first in line to be paid any cash left over by the liquidation of ARPM and that process has started.”
An employment tribunal has now said the former employee’s claim for breach of contract was ‘well-founded’ and awarded her £3,982.10 notice pay as well as employer pension contributions of £103.80.
TIME LIMIT
Representatives of ARPM failed to give a response within the agreed time limit.
The claimant was employed by Rickmansworth-based ARPM until August 31, 2021 and the Insolvency Service had already paid sums due in unlawful deductions.
The true fall-out is yet to be fully revealed although pundits say it seems likely that there will be significant shortfalls in the accounts with many people – landlords, tenants and agents facing financial loss.
Writing in his blog last month Garrett Foxon, founder of LettsPay said that the requirement for agents to carry client money protection insurance had been mandatory since April 2019.
But it remains to be seen whether this “backstop” protection will fully cover any shortfalls where an agent has outsourced their client accounting to a third party who fails to operate with the financial probity that they should.
