Desperate employees demand courts order winding up of technology and research companies Precision Mechatronics and Geneasys, owned by Memjet inventor Kia Silverbrook’s partner, Janette Lee.
The current and former employees say they have not been paid by the companies since as far back as February, and are owed more than $1.9 million in salary and redundancy entitlements. The applications before registrar Rebel Kenna in the NSW Supreme Court seek for the businesses to be wound up, in order for the workers to claim government assistance from the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) scheme.
The application against Precision Mechatronics lists 46 supporting creditors, while Geneasys lists two, totalling over $2 million in statutory demands. Lee has an interest holding in the two companies, which share the same registered office address. Precision Mechatronics was previously a part of Silverbrook Research, responsible for manufacturing the machinery and components for Silverbrook’s Memjet technology.
The companies have challenged the applications on the grounds that businesses remain ongoing solvent concerns. They argued that a “typhoon” of statutory demands related to the unpaid amounts have “stymied… its ability and time frame to continue to pursue commercial credit options”. They have appealed for the case to be stood over while a forensic report can be conducted to support their claims of solvency.
Silverbrook himself has struck back at the claims, saying to The Weekend Australian, “These [employees] have been advised by a law firm to put in wind-up orders, which has worsened the situation and made it very, very difficult to do things. There are people looking for solutions at the moment and the whole thing will be solved in a relatively short amount of time, in a matter of weeks or months.”
Chris Wood, barrister for the plaintiffs, has emphasised the need for a “tight timetable” as many employees are owed from as far back as February, however they only qualify for the FEG entitlments if the businesses are declared insolvent.