Nationwide to save Carillion staff by making them employees

Nationwide Building Society has announced it will now take on 250 former Carillion employees and guarantee the jobs of a further 1,500 workers employed by subcontractors of the collapsed giant.

Last week's collapse of Carillion sparked widespread fear for the jobs of thousands of staff. The construction firm and public-sector contractor employed 20,000 workers in the UK alone.

In a statement, the UK’s largest building society – which already has 18,000 employees – said it would bring all services provided by Carillion in-house. Carillion employees would then become Nationwide employees.

In a pre-prepared statement, Nationwide said: “Our contractors perform a vital and valued role for the Society. During an unsettling time for Carillion employees we felt it was important to provide them with some reassurances. We are today announcing a proposal to bring all services provided directly by Carillion in house, with Carillion employees becoming Nationwide employees from 22 January.”