Dinner ladies were today taking their battle for redundancy payments to an

employment tribunal.

Caterers have joined forces with council chiefs in a fight over payments at the hearing which was due to start in Brighton and is expected to last ten days.

The tribunal will decide who will pay the money to sacked dinner ladies. West Sussex County Council, former caterers Castle View Services and new firm Sodexho, formerly Gardner Merchant, all claim they are not responsible for redundancy payouts totalling £300,000 to former staff.

A total of 500 dinner ladies lost their jobs when the council scrapped hot meals in schools but they still have not been paid.

If Sodexho loses the case, taxpayers in West Sussex could end up picking up the bill for the catering firm.

West Sussex said no arrangements had been made as to who would make payments if either party lost the case.

The council cut the hot meals service in an attempt to save £500,000 a year and made the dinner staff redundant in September.

The new contract was awarded for cold lunch boxes and councillors defended their actions by saying the number of children having a hot meal had slumped.

The council believes Castle View Services should make the payments because it employed the staff as part of an undertaking which ceased.

Council bosses also claim Castle View is responsible for the contracts of managers employed in the meals service and not the council or Sodexho.

But Castle View says it is not responsible as the meals contract was awarded to a new contractor.

The announcement to cut hot school meals promoted a series of campaigns and protests by parents.

A spokesman for the council said: "The council considers this is a legal dispute between ourselves and Castle View. That is why a decision was taken to join with Sodexho.

"It is not automatic that the county council would be funding the costs if Sodexho lost. It has not be discussed yet."