A single mum claims she will be forced to use a food bank to feed her three children after the nursery she worked at suddenly closed.
Rachel Hughes says losing her job at the Morlo Nursery in Anglesey, north Wales, has left her "with nothing" and “nowhere to turn”.
She now worries about how she will provide for her daughters Ava, four, Isabella, nine, and Amelia, 10, and says she has already applied for help from a food bank.
Rachel had worked at Morlo Nursery for 17 years, but the childcare provider announced it would be closing its doors with immediate effect this week.
The former employee claims her colleagues were told there was no money to pay their wages, and it could take up to nine months to get the money back.
"It's so upsetting because I'm single mother to three girls and the wages I'm supposed to get on Monday is supposed to cover my rent, my food, and now I have nothing,” she told North Wales Live.
"I've been crying all day because I don't know how I'm going to feed my kids.
"I've had to apply for the foodbank, which I've never done in my life, and I've had to apply for a gas voucher so I can keep my children warm.
"How can I possibly look after and bring up my children with no money?"
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Rachel is now faced with finding a new job so she can pay her bills and provide for her children, but fears what could happen if she doesn't find a job quickly.
She said: "I started applying for jobs as soon as I got told the news, I have already sent off applications even though it's only been two days, I need to find a job ASAP.”
"How can they just drop that bombshell on us and leave us with nothing?” continued Rachel.
"I'm a single mother to three kids and I've got people telling me to reach out but what happens when you reach out and don't get any help? What do I do?"
A job advert posted to the Morlo Nursery Facebook page earlier this month suggests the company had been advertising for more staff in the run up to its closure.
Rachel claims company bosses were "in denial" and didn't "face up" to the reality of the situation, until it was too late.
She said: "The management has just been awful, it's been horrific and now as a result, all of our livelihoods have been taken off us.
"In the emergency meeting we asked them why they had been taking on more kids and trying to hire more staff and they couldn't give us an answer.
"I just feel lied to, because they knew that this was coming and they didn't warn us.
"They even had us work last month, knowing that they weren't going to pay us. It's just disgusting."
The Directors of Meithrinfa Morlo Nursery Ltd declined to comment when approached by North Wales Live. The Mirror has also contacted Morlo Nursery for comment.
What to check if you've been made redundant
If your workplace is closing down and you're being made redundant, you should check you receive everything you're entitled to.
Citizens Advice says this includes:
Any redundancy pay you’re entitled to (or you’ve been told when you’ll get it)
Your last wages/salary
Any ‘pay in lieu’ if you’re not working your full notice
Any holiday pay you’re entitled to
Any outstanding bonus, commission or expenses you’re entitled to
You should contact your nearest Citizens Advice if there is a problem with your final pay or your employer hasn't provided you with enough notice of your redundancy.
Depending on your situation, you may also be able apply to the government for redundancy pay, outstanding payments like holiday or overtime pay, or money you would have earned working your notice period.
The amount of notice you should be given depends on how long you've worked at that company for, but the minimum is one week for those working at a company for one month to two years.
After this, you should be given one week notice for every year you've been employed, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
You may have to make a claim to an employment tribunal to get the money you’re owed.
