DOZENS of redundant staff at a Bicester disability equipment firm are in a battle for their P45s so they can claim benefits, it emerged last night.

Staff at Chiltern Invadex, in Churchill Road, were told on Monday that the firm was closing after 26 years in the town.

The move follows months of uncertainty for 81 staff who claimed they had wages paid late, were underpaid in February and last month received nothing at all.

About 45 people were based at the firm’s factory in Churchill Road, Bicester, and others worked as installers and service engineers.

Liquidator Grant Thornton is now handling the company’s affairs, but said staff did not technically work for Chiltern Invadex, but were employed by a London firm called Staff Outsourcing Service.

However, when employees contacted SOS, the firm denied any knowledge of them.

Until they are made officially redundant and issued with P45s, staff may not be able to claim benefits.

When they contacted HM Revenue & Customs, staff were told they were not registered as having worked for Chiltern Invadex since 2007, when the firm was bought by managing director Robert Hale.

A worker, who did not want to be named, claimed he was owed more than £2,500.

He said: “A lot of us are suffering extreme financial hardship. The problem we’re having is, it seems, we don’t exist, so we’re stuck.”

Mr Hale, who is believed to live in Henley, bought Chiltern Medical two years ago and renamed it Chiltern Invadex, but has not been seen for weeks.

Dispatch manager Mark Willoughby, of Abingdon, said: “We haven’t seen him and he hasn’t spoken to staff as a collective group since Christmas.

“We weren’t paid in full at the end of February, some people had some money but not the full amount. Certainly we haven’t been paid for March.

“The business going into liquidation was not a complete shock, but the issue over employment contracts is.”