Receivers had previously warned workers not to expect any holiday pay or redundancy entitlements.
Head office employees from the now-defunct Pumpkin Patch have been told they will receive any outstanding holiday pay and redundancy entitlements despite being warned earlier in the year that reimbursement would be unlikely.
“When the business entered receivership, we were upfront with head office employees advising that any payment of entitlements would be unlikely, as [Pumpkin Patch] had no available assets to meet these entitlements,” said receiver Neale Jackson.
Despite previous reservations, Jackson and fellow receiver Brendan Gibson confirmed yesterday that adequate funds had been recovered to ensure all 153 head office employees would be paid what they are owed.
“Together with the management team, we continued to investigate any potential avenues of recovery,” said Jackson. “This has been a complex matter and consequently that process has taken some time.”
While there is now adequate funds to pay employees, Jackson and Gibson also confirmed that there would be a statutory preferential cap of $22,160 per person.
“Successfully recovering the funds is the best possible result for employees who, in this case, receive priority ahead of any other creditor,” added Jackson.
Jackson and Gibson – who are overseeing the receivership on behalf of KordaMentha – said employees with outstanding preferential entitlements are being notified directly with payment due to be made in mid-May.
