Staff at Oxford's Allders department store face an uncertain future, with news that the store could be closed for up to six months while it is converted into a fashion shop for budget chain Primark.

More than 100 staff at the Westgate Centre shop have been offered a choice of redundancy or six months' unpaid leave after the store closes, probably on Saturday, March 19.

Allders is insolvent and is being wound up by accountants Kroll, who have sold the Oxford store to Primark, which is set to take charge at the end of March.

Primark spokesman Chris Barry said: "Consultation has started on the redundancy process and we have held the first meeting."

He said a survey of the store was under way, which would help decide how long the refit would take.

Kroll spokesman Ian Kitts said: "We did say at the time of the sale that the majority of the staff would be taken on. The letters which staff have received recently have come from Primark, so it's not under the remit of the administrators.

"They have been offered a redundancy payment or six months' unpaid leave, with a job at the end to come back to, which seems very fair in the circumstances."

The uncertainty over jobs follows fears that many Allders employees could lose out on their pensions.

The administrators have agreed to make monthly contributions of £58,000 until June, but there is an estimated £60m "black hole" in the scheme following the decision by Minerva, which owned 60 per cent of Allders, to sell the stores last December. Meanwhile Minerva chairman Sir David Garrard -- whose salary is £693,000 a year -- is reported to be stepping down from the board and retiring with a £35m "golden handshake" through the sale of shares.

A former manager of a concession at Allders, who did not want to be named, told the Oxford Mail: "About 50 or 60 per cent of staff at the store work for concessions and many, like me, have been made redundant. But no-one is counting us in all the reports about redundancies."

She added that Primark intended to close the shop for up to seven months.

She said: "It has offered Allders staff a choice of minimum redundancy or unpaid leave for that period. I think Allders staff are being treated appallingly.

"Customers are also saying that the sale to Primark will leave shoppers in Oxford over 35 with very few places in which to shop other than Marks & Spencer. "

Mr Barry said: "Staff have been offered a choice between redundancy payments and a period of unpaid leave."

Speaking about the concession staff, he said: "We understand it is difficult for them, but the concessions are not Primark's responsibility, as they are employed by other companies."

A member of staff said that the option of unpaid leave or redundancy offered people no real choice. She said: "How many people can afford to have six or seven months off without pay?"

She feared the closure would affect the whole city centre and that Oxford would become a less appealing shopping destination.

"People will say 'I won't bother going into Oxford'. It will have a knock-on effect on other stores," she said.