An e-petition demanding compensation for Woolworths staff who missed out on a share of January’s £67m payout has been launched.

Headed ‘Justice for Woolworths Staff’, the petition is listed on government website Directgov. It reads: “Sign this petition if you think the tribunal decision to not award compensation to employees of Woolworths in stores with less than 20 employees in a time of redundancies is unfair. Help us fight to change this and the law the tribunal is covered by.”

The petition needs 100,000 names to be debated by MPs. It currently has 613 signatures and closes on 31 July. It is being supported by a social media campaign, including Facebook and Twitter.

Shopworkers’ union Usdaw won £67m compensation for more than 24,000 former Woolworths staff last month after a tribunal ruled that administrators had failed in their legal duty to consult Usdaw before making redundancies. It ruled Usdaw members should receive 60 days’ pay at £330 a week - the most it was able to award.

However, the award did not extend to smaller stores, meaning 6,000 former staff missed out.

“The fact that some of our members won’t be compensated simply because their store had less than 20 staff is just plain wrong and shows the gaping loophole in and injustice of the current legislation,” said Usdaw national officer John Gorle.

However, there is a chance the issue will be debated even if the e-petition fails to hit the 100,000 name mark.

Labour MP Jim Sheridan has tabled a motion in the House of Commons calling for the compensation to be distributed fairly. The motion has already attracted cross-party support.

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