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FORMER EMPLOYEES AND franchisees say they’ve been left “in limbo” and out of pocket after the Fastway’s sudden shutdown sent shockwaves through its network of couriers and across businesses around Ireland.
Hundreds of former employees and small firms are still reeling from the collapse of courier service, after its parent company Nuvion Group entered receivership last week.
The company, which also operated Parcel Connect and Nügo, ceased trading with immediate effect after joint receivers were appointed.
Around 300 direct employees and up to 1,000 contractors and franchise drivers have been affected, just weeks before the busy Christmas delivery season.
In an internal email to staff, workers were told they would “not be paid beyond this point” and were not required to attend work unless specifically asked. The company said the business was no longer viable.
The fallout has been swift and severe. A former Fastway worker who was based in a depot in the west told The Journal that staff are effectively left “in limbo” until December, unable to apply for new jobs or welfare.
Full-time Fastway staff, including those that worked in the company’s depots and distribution centres, are set to receive statutory redundancy payments from the government, as no money will come from the company or receivers.
Franchisees and the drivers that work for them, however, face a far worse situation, with some owed weeks of pay and no guaranteed compensation.
Many other Fastway franchise operators spent thousands securing franchise areas recently, according to staff, meaning they are down thousands of euro.
Buying a franchise area means acquiring the exclusive right to operate a franchise’s business model and brand within a specific geographical region.
“Our hands are tied until 1 December, that’s when we officially become redundant and can apply for new jobs or welfare,” the worker at the depot in the west said.
“I’ve some savings, but it’ll be hard. The drivers are worse off, as they’re not getting anything. Some of them are now down four or five weeks of wages, as they were paid differently.”
The worker added that there’s “no money” coming from Fastway or the receivers for former staff.
Whatever we get will be from the government redundancy scheme. But a lot of people just don’t know what happens next.
Several former employees staged a protest outside the Dáil on Wednesday, calling for government intervention to fast-track payments.
People Before Profit TD Ruth Coppinger said workers had been “blindsided” and were “caught in a complete double bind”.
“They’re told they can’t sign on for social welfare for 30 days or they risk their redundancy and wages. We need a statutory instrument to get around this.”
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said the Ministers for Social Protection and Enterprise were engaged with the issue and that discussions would continue “over the coming days”.
Rimas Kirsys, a former Fastway franchise operator, said many franchisees were left with thousands in unpaid bills and no clarity on whether they will recover what they are owed.
“I lost my franchise and the money I paid for it, though I paid for it a few years ago, so I got some of it back,” Kirsys said.
“The van loan is not paid yet and the company still owes me two weeks’ payment, about €1,300 plus VAT per driver,” he added.
He noted that several Fastway franchise operators recently invested thousands of euros to secure their areas, leaving them financially exposed.
“Other guys just bought franchise areas for €5,000 to €15,000 recently, leased vans, and Fastway held four weeks of payments before it ended up like this.
“There’s a lot of sad stories.”
Adrian, a former franchise operator from Kildare town, said he invested everything he had into what he believed was a stable, long-term business.
“I invested over €40,000, including €18,500 for the franchise and my own van. I truly believed I was building something for my family,” Adrian said.
“But there was no communication, no support, just silence. We were paid as little as 80 cent per parcel and had deductions made with no notice or explanation.”
Despite the difficulties, Adrian said he and other drivers “worked tirelessly” to maintain standards and honour customer commitments.
“We lost the franchise and lost money, but not our values,” he added.
Meanwhile, delivery firms and small retailers are scrambling to cope.
Fastway was one of Ireland’s largest courier networks, delivering an estimated 25 million parcels annually across 20 depots and two sortation hubs.
Many couriers, including DPD and An Post, have confirmed they are not taking on new business before Christmas to protect existing capacity.
Gavin Keogh, who runs Wines Direct, a family-owned business in Mullingar, said Fastway’s sudden closure caused major disruption just as peak trading season began.
“We’d worked with Fastway for 15 years and had a great relationship with the team, it was a real shock,” he said.
Keogh said his company, which previously used Fastway for apporoximately 70% of its product shipments, had to rebuild its delivery network almost overnight.
“It took a lot of work internally, but our priority was to make sure customers weren’t left in the lurch,” he said.
“We switched to other couriers and even used our own vans to get wine orders out. It’s been intense, but we’ve managed to keep going.”
He added however that they haven’t been able to trace products that were in transit with Fastway when the receivership took effect, as live tracking was disabled for the company.
“We’ve been in touch with all affected customers, but we have received very little contact from Fastway,” Keogh said.
“We’re very lucky, as we know many smaller businesses that have been impacted massively by this.”
Industry groups say the collapse has wider implications for Ireland’s small business sector.
In a statement, the Irish SME Association (ISME) said it had received a “huge number of reports” from firms left without clarity on stock stranded in Fastway’s system.
ISME chief executive Neil McDonnell called on the receivers to prioritise releasing parcels currently in transit, warning that delays could threaten the viability of some retailers.
“Goods in transit do not form part of Fastway’s assets and are not subject to the receiver’s charge,” McDonnell said.
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