The employees of Wadco Lighting, which manufactured specialist lights for mines, supermarkets and other food and beverage suppliers, say representatives of Queensland Manufacturing Industries assured them their jobs would be safe.

The workers were asked to sign a form which said a company called Waltek Industries would be their new employer. The form said there would be "no change in your role or duties" and that employees would retain all entitlements. Bonuses of up to $5000 were offered if they stayed  until the end of the year.

"It appears this inducement was never to be realised and offered to us so we would sign the document," Mr Efrossynis said.

Within a few weeks, employees were asked to hand in their phones, computers and cars  for possible replacement. They were offered $200 for a taxi home and back to work the following Monday.

But when the employees returned on Monday, they were shocked to find a notice taped to a roller door which said Waltek Industries had been placed into administration and to "please accept this notice as confirmation that your employment is terminated".

Mr Efrossynis, a Wadco employee of 20 years, said he and his colleagues feel "conned" out of their entitlements.

"They promised us a future.," he said.

Robert Raju, who worked as Wadco's production manager for 22 years, said the new owners told him the business would move to new premises.

"They said they wanted to keep everybody," he said. "They lied and used us all."

David Beer, a Wadco employee of 10 years said: "If what these people have done is legal, it's not morally right."

Taxpayers will now be left to compensate the workers up to $500,000 in lost entitlements, including long service leave, through the Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme.

Sydney Federal Labor MP Jason Clare has written to the federal government calling for an investigation.

"It looks like the company is trying to get out of its responsibility to pay these men and women their entitlements and get taxpayers to foot the bill," he said.

Rade Dudurovic, a director of Queensland Manufacturing Industries and its parent company Sequent Corporation, distanced himself from Waltek.

"I'm not involved in that. We only bought stock from Waltek. QMI has nothing to do with that business," he said.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission records identify David Raphael as director of Waltek and former director of Milli Holdings which went into liquidation last year.

Milli Holdings was formerly named Queensland Manufacturing Industries and its registered office was 16 Cox Road, Windsor, in Queensland. This is the same address of LG Solomon, the accountant for Waltek Industries and Milli Holdings before they went into liquidation.

It is also the registered business address of Queensland Manufacturing Industries (QMI) and Sequent Corporation.

Worrells solvency and forensic accountants has reported an "ongoing professional relationship with LG Solomon Pty Ltd".

Jamieson Louttit, who replaced Worrells as the administrator of Waltek, said QMI is a subsidiary of Sequent Corporation. He said Sequent and Waltek bought Wadco under the same contract of sale. The QMI website includes Wadco Lighting as one of its brand names.

"Sequent effectively purchased the business and the assets and Waltek acquired all the stock and employee entitlements," Mr Louttit said. "The employees' entitlements have been left behind."

David Solomon of LG Solomon said the Wadco workers were entitled to a Fair Entitlements Guarantee claim. He said Sequent only bought the intellectual property from Wadco.

"It is up to the liquidator to approve their FEG claim," Mr Solomon said.

"[Wadco owner] Peter Johns ran Walter Wadley and Co. That company had substantial losses. That company could not pay its staff entitlements."

Mr Solomon said the Wadco business was not viable after a month of its acquisition and the "stock was on-sold and the employees were terminated".

He said the employees were transferred to a new company to protect the buildings of the Peter Johns estate.

Solomon Erzurumlu, general manager of Wadco Lighting, said Mr Dudurovic was the director of QMI which bought the Wadco business name and trademark.