DOZENS of workers made redundant when housing firm Connaught went into administration last week have had their jobs saved.

Building firm Lovells has stepped in to take on the contract vacated by the now defunct contractor with Barnet Homes to repair all council housing stock in the borough.

As part of the agreement they have also taken on staff from Connaught on their existing pay and conditions and hope to have systems up and running by Monday.

On Friday morning 39 staff members were told their contracts had been terminated by administrators KPMG after a conference call the previous night.

Over the weekend many received letters telling them the terms of their redundancy, leading to several seeking further employment elsewhere.

One worker, who attended the meeting at Barnet House this morning, said: “Tracey Lees, the head of Barnet Homes actually apologised for the way things were handled with us.

“I think it all caught them a bit on the hop and they weren't prepared for how quickly the situation developed.

“It's a real relief knowing our jobs are safe, at least for the time being. They said they are sorting out the handover of systems this week before getting everything up and running.”

Ms Lees described the situation as a “win-win” for the group and the 39 staff and said she was “delighted” to have agreed the new contract so quickly.

She added: “This means staff will have continuity of service and as importantly, the maintenance staff our tenants know and like will be on-hand to look after their homes.

“Our decision to terminate Connaught's contract, largely because we felt they couldn't guarantee to deliver a service, has been vindicated by events.

“That prompt action has let us put a replacement in place within days and to make sure there is no gap in our maintenance service.

“Lovell will take on our maintenance for the coming eighteen months. We have already had several expression of interest from companies keen to bid for the contract when we fully re-let it..”