Dinner ladies who lost their jobs when school lunches were axed are taking their former employers to an industrial tribunal.
The 24 women are fighting for redundancy payments which could be worth thousands of pounds and are being helped to prepare their case by public services union Unison.
Essex County Council says Scolarest, which took over the school dinners contract for some services from the council, is responsible for any redundancy payments necessary.
Earlier this year the council announced it was scrapping the contract for hot meals and schools had to find their own caterers. Some of them now provide sandwich lunches.
A spokesman said the county council was handling 24 employment tribunal cases relating to redundancy.
But Scolarest said it believes that all staff not transferring to another contractor were the responsibility of the council.
A spokesman added the company had offered compensation to 100 staff whose jobs were unlikely to continue and the offer was accepted by 70 people.
Published Friday August 13, 2004
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article