Mr E Fernandez Breis v Weaveworks Ltd (in creditors’ voluntary liquidation) Also sent to: The Secretary of State for Business & Trade (as statutory guarantor) — 2024

The tribunal found that Mr E Fernandez Breis's employment ended on 31 December 2023 and that he had been paid for work done up to that date, so his complaint of unauthorised deductions from wages for January 2024 was dismissed. It also recorded a separate pension-contributions complaint, which had been paid after presentation and was dismissed upon the claimant's withdrawal.

On dismissal and holiday pay, the tribunal held that the claimant was wrongfully dismissed without notice or payment in lieu of notice and that he was contractually entitled to one month's notice. It found a gross wrongful dismissal entitlement of £11,666.67, noted that the Secretary of State had already paid £643.00 gross of that amount, and recorded the balance of £11,023.67 gross as owed by the respondent. It further found that he had accrued but not taken four days of annual leave worth £2,156 gross, of which £459.29 had been paid by the Secretary of State, leaving £1,696.71 gross owed by the respondent.

The tribunal then addressed collective consultation. It found that the respondent had failed to comply with section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 in relation to 71 redundancies at a single establishment on 31 December 2023, and that the claimant was entitled to pursue the complaint under section 189 because there was no recognised trade union or employee representatives. It accepted that there had been some partial compliance and only minimal consultation, but still concluded that it was just and equitable to make a protective award of 50 days' pay for the claimant. The judgment also recorded that the Employment Protection (Recoupment of Benefits) Regulations 1996 applied only to the protective award, with a protected period from 29 December 2023 to 16 February 2024.