Unite the union has hit out at the government for failing to take action following the collapse of Carillion in January 2018.

The Official Regulator is undertaking an investigation into whether there was any criminal wrongdoing by Carillion’s directors prior to the company’s collapse. The investigation is not expected to be completed until early 2021.

Meanwhile the Financial Reporting Council is undertaking several investigations into the company's financial reporting and the accuracy of its auditing processes. No date has been given to when the investigation will be concluded.

At the same time Carillion's two hospital projects the Royal Liverpool hospital and the Midland Metropolitan hospital are years behind schedule with work not yet restarted or only just getting underway.


The Royal Liverpool hospital was originally due to be completed by March 2017 and was officially 85 per cent complete when Carillion collapsed. However since then it has emerged that there were serious structural problems with the hospital’s concrete beams and the cladding on the building was a fire risk.

Work on the hospital only began to restart in July and the local NHS Trust is no longer prepared to provide an estimate of a completion date or when the hospital will be operational.

The Midland Metropolitan hospital being built in Smethwick in the West Midlands was half built when Carillion collapsed. The hospital was due to be completed by October 2018. The contract to renew construction work remains unsigned although it is expected that Balfour Beatty will undertake the work. The hospital will not be finished before late 2021.

Workers who lost their jobs following Carillion's collapse are also seeking justice for the failure of the company to consult them before making them redundant. Unite is representing around 220 of these workers and the employment tribunal case which is being vigorously defended by the Official Receiver is scheduled to be heard in late 2020.