Claimant v Quinn Radiators Ltd (In Administration) and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy — 2023

The tribunal heard the additional set of claims at Cardiff by video on 6 March 2023 before Employment Judge R Harfield, with Mr F Collier and Ms L Owen as members. It found that the 23 employees before it were assigned to the First Respondent's Newport establishment at Imperial Park and that, when the factory closed on 10 June 2019 and administrators were called in, they were dismissed as redundant without warning.

The tribunal found there had been no warning, no consultation and no disclosure of the information required by section 188 TULCRA, either with Unite or with individual employees. It held that the First Respondent was proposing to dismiss 20 or more employees at one establishment within 90 days, so the collective consultation duty applied, and that there was a complete breach of that duty. No special circumstances defence was run.

Applying the approach in Susie Radin Limited v GMB, the tribunal said the starting point for a protective award was 90 days and that reduction would only be justified by mitigating factors. It found no mitigating factors and made protective awards for the listed employees for a protected period of 90 days beginning on 10 June 2019. It also noted that the Employment Protection (Recoupment of Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support) Regulations 1996 applied.

One remaining claimant, Maura McCabe (1600047/2020), was not determined at this hearing because her situation was said to be more complicated and further evidence was needed on whether she was assigned to the unit in question. Her claim was to be relisted for a further hearing.