I WAS made redundant from my job of 12 years on November 30, 1998. The firm I worked for ceased to trade because of its financial position. The sole proprietor of the firm is currently trying to enter into a Creditors' Voluntary Arrangement which could take up to 12 months.

The staff of the firm were not paid their monthly salaries for November because of the firm's financial position. The last time we were all paid therefore was October 31.

We were also due by employment Law, both redundancy pay and also payment in lieu of notice. These two payments were again not paid by our former employer, who chose to wash his hands of his former staff.

To sum up the situation, therefore, the whole staff have had no money whatsoever going into their households since October 31.

I have, fortunately, been employed for over 30 years and not spent any time on the dole. I,therefore, with some trepidation, went to the Job Centre to sign on the unemployment register in early December. I explained the situation to the assistant and was informed, because the firm I worked for was not formally insolvent, then the Benefit Office assumed that I had been paid my legal entitlement by my former employer.

This cannot be fair and equitable in our so-called socially just society.

I can only suggest because we are unable to "exploit" the Benefit Office like much more experienced dole campaigners, then we all have to manage without any money whatsoever for over two months.

We are told by the Benefit Office assistants that these are the "rules", and when we ask how we are expected to live we are told "they do not know".

If this fair treatment after over 30 years of paying income tax and national insurance into the system? I don't think so!

Neil A Wright

Disillusioned poor man

Sapling Road, Morris Green, Bolton

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.