Employees made redundant by Mothercare are taking legal action against the retailer.

It comes after the children’s retailer entered administration due to trading difficulties, with 384 staff at its head office in Watford and around 2,500 employees in 79 stores across the UK losing their jobs.

But dozens of ex-staff, including those at the retailer’s HQ, have been in contact with the employment team at Simpson Millar to investigate allegations that the business had failed to properly consult staff when making redundancies.

Stephen Pinder, an employment law Partner at Simpson Millar, said that if the business had failed in its legal obligation to undertake a ‘collective redundancy consultation’ process, staff could be entitled to compensation.

He said: “It’s always a shock when a business goes into administration, and it’s a very sad time indeed for those ex-employees, especially just before Christmas, who have been in contact with our team of employment law experts.

“We’ve been receiving calls from over a dozen ex-employees, who are looking to pursue a Protective Award which, if successful, will see them compensated by up to 90 days' gross pay, albeit likely capped at £4,200 given the company’s administrative state.

“To be entitled to this, formal legal action must be brought against Mothercare and an Employment Tribunal Judgment obtained which will rule on whether there was a failure by an employer to follow the correct procedure when making redundancies.”

Mr Pinder added that the speed at which they were contacted by staff suggested an “increased awareness” amongst workers of their rights when it comes to the collapse of an organisation.

He continued: “People tend to assume that once a business has gone bust, there’s nothing they can do.

“However, with so many large organisations entering administration, and high-profile cases such as Thomas Cook going into compulsory liquidation, there is an increased awareness amongst workers about what the correct, and indeed the incorrect, process is when making redundancies.

“Where businesses fail in their legal obligation staff do still have rights, and where an Employment Tribunal finds in the favour of the employees they will be able to access the funds via the Government Insolvency Service.”

The firm has set up a Mothercare Eligibility Checker which allows employees to see whether they can claim.

Mothercare has been approached for comment.