Claimant v Wasps Holding Ltd (in Administration) and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy — 2023

These were 92 claims brought by employees of Wasps Holdings Limited (in administration) arising from the first respondent's failure to consult about proposed redundancies. The tribunal decided the case on the papers, found the claims were presented in time, and recorded that the administrators had consented in writing to the proceedings continuing. It also found that the claimants had standing to bring individual complaints under s.189 TULRCA.

The tribunal found that the first respondent went into administration on 17 October 2022 and that the administrator did not adopt the employment contracts, so the claimants' employment ended with immediate effect on that date. It found that the dismissals were by reason of redundancy, that 20 or more employees were employed at one establishment, and that no recognised trade union was in place for collective bargaining purposes. No election of employee representatives was held and no consultation took place before the dismissals.

The tribunal held that the complaint was well founded because the employer failed to comply with s.188 TULRCA and failed to elect representatives in accordance with s.188A. It found that no special circumstances were established under s.189(6), and that the limited updates given to employees on 22 September 2022, 5 October 2022 and 12 October 2022 did not amount to compliance or a relevant mitigating factor. Applying the approach in Susie Radin, the tribunal set the protected period at the maximum 90 days, beginning on 17 October 2022, and made a protective award in respect of each claimant.