Administrators at Woolworths have given details of the dates when each of its 807 stores will close over the next two weeks.

All stores will be closed by 5 January, but the first shops will shut on 27 December, just after Christmas.

All 27,000 permanent and temporary staff will lose their jobs unless a last-minute buyer can be found.

Some stores will be reopened by other retailers who have expressed an interested in buying their leases.

Shop windows will display a countdown showing how many days are left before the store closes.

Staff will be entitled to compensation under the statutory redundancy payment scheme and will be retained for a few days following store closures. Source: BBC.

Statutory redundancy payment

• 0.5 week’s pay for each full year of service where age during year less than 22
• 1.0 week’s pay for each full year of service where age during year is 22 or above, but less than 41
• 1.5 weeks’ pay for each full year of service where age during year is 41+

For the payment calculation a week’s pay can’t exceed £330 and you can’t claim for more than 20 weeks. So the most a worker could get is just short of £10,000. How does that compare to the fat cat bankers, bonuses? Derisory.