Stoneywood Paper Mill goes into administration

Stoneywood Paper Mill, which has operated for more than 250 years, went into administration last Thursday with the loss of more than 300 jobs.

On Thursday afternoon, workers were told to attend a meeting an hour later, and were informed that administrators had been appointed.

Over the last three years, Scottish Enterprise has given the mill owners more than 12 m of support.

368 of the group's 463 UK-based employees have been made redundant due to administrators being appointed at the Arjowiggins Group mills in Stoneywood, Kent, and in Chartham, Kent.

95 staff were retained at the two sites to continue limited activity while the administrators explored the possibility that the mills and assets could be sold.

He told BBC Scotland: "They were dismissed without any consultation and there's a duty on employers to carry out what's called a collective consultation" where they propose to dismiss 20 or more people from a single workplace.

The redundancies came completely out of the blue, and that means that the employees are entitled to claim a protective award of up to 90 days' pay per employee. The joint administrators did not want to make any comment on any legal action that may be taken.