Neil Sheridan & Others (see schedule) v Safehands Holidays Limited (In Voluntary Liquidation) — 2020

The respondent did not present a response, so Employment Judge S Moore determined the matter under Rule 21 on the basis of the claim form, the claimants’ written account dated 18 February 2020, and the accompanying documentation. The claim was for a protective award arising from redundancies at the Esplanade Hotel, Llandudno after the business decision to close the hotel.

The tribunal found that on 11 November 2019 all staff were told at 4pm that they were being made redundant as of 10am on 15 November 2019. There had been no prior consultation, no recognised trade union for consultation and negotiation, and no appointment or election opportunity for employee representatives under section 188A.

The tribunal found that no valid consultation within the meaning of section 188(2) and (4) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 took place before the redundancy dismissals took effect on or about 15 November 2019. It therefore held the respondent in breach of its section 188 duty and made an award under section 189 in favour of all claimants named in the schedule.

The award was for the maximum protected period of 90 days beginning on 15 November 2019. The claimants had already made claims to the Redundancy Payments Service in respect of redundancy pay and notice pay, and the judgment records that the protective award remained to be determined by the tribunal. The judgment also set out the recoupment provisions under the Employment Protection (Recoupment of Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support) Regulations 1996.