A charity worker has won an appeal against his former employers.

Zubair Valimulla, who lives in Audley Range, Blackburn, worked as a masjid liaison officer, raising money for the Al-Khair Foundation, an emergency relief charity which has an office on Derby Street in Bolton.

He was made redundant in October 2020 after being placed on furlough during pandemic restrictions.

His previous battle with his former employers failed. However, Mr Valimulla appealed the ruling, and he has now been awarded more than £16,000.

In an employment appeal tribunal judgement, made in October, and published on Monday, June 10, Her Honour Judge Katherine Tucker found flaws in the previous judgement – which had accepted that Mr Valimulla’s role was "unique", despite others carrying out the same role at different locations within the charity.

Judge Tucker said it was "unclear" how the consultation could have been considered "meaningful", with Mr Valimulla placed into a redundancy pool of just one person.

At a remedy judgment carried out in May, Mr Valimulla was awarded £16,789.52 to compensate him for lost earnings and for his loss of statutory rights.

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Speaking to The Bolton News, Mr Valimulla – now aged 45 – said: “I feel that this judgment can help others that have been unfairly dismissed.

“Do believe in the system of the court and the tribunal, and eventually you will succeed.”

He added: “It’s been very tense, stressful as well as times – especially post-Covid, to find another like-for-like job has been very, very difficult, especially a job which I really, really enjoyed.

“During the pandemic I was in the papers, in The Bolton News and the Lancashire Telegraph for supporting locals with food packs and things like that. It was a passion which I had to help people in need.

“It was a job which I was following from the heart, and then shockingly to be made redundant – I just made really, really hard done by.

“It was more that justice has been served.”

In a statement, he added: “It's been long, enduring, three years seeking for justice however the support from my family and keeping spiritually motivated had been pivotal for me to carry on fighting for what I strongly believed was unfair redundancy.”

The Al-Khair Foundation has been approached for comment about the case.

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.