Workers who were given just one day's notice that they were losing their jobs have been awarded £1.5m by a tribunal.

Fife paper mill Tullis Russell made 374 employees redundant in April last year after the firm called in the administrators.

An employment tribunal in Dundee awarded eight weeks' salary to each of the sacked paper mill workers in compensation.

The company directors were under an obligation to provide employees with at least 45 days' notice as more than 100 workers were losing their jobs this was ignored meaning each employee was entitled to sue the company.

Thompsons Solicitors represented the workers and said working together was the key to minimising legal costs and maximising the award.

David Martyn, a senior employment lawyer at Thompsons, said: "Scotland has suffered from several mass redundancies in recent months: USC , Tullis Russell and Hawick Knitwear have all gone into administration with the loss of several hundred jobs.

"The more notice the work force have to prepare for these devastating changes, the better they can organise their financial responsibilities to soften the blow.

"This award of compensation will be paid by UK administration service.

"That means that the tax payer has picked up the tab because company directors have played fast and loose with the rules.

"This has to stop and I believe we need to see more criminal prosecutions of companies that behave this way.

"This happened with the recent case of Mike Ashley's USC firm in relation to the way they behaved towards workers in Ayrshire.

"But we also need the Scottish Government to look at introducing a system of compulsory insurance for employers.

"This would ensure that employees receive their full dues when a company goes bust and would avoid the need to take legal action."

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