Mrs Tracy Almond v M & A Pharmachem Limited (in administration) — 2024

Mrs Tracy Almond brought a claim for a protective award arising from the respondent's failure to comply with the collective consultation requirements. The respondent, M & A Pharmachem Limited (in administration), did not present a response to the claim.

The tribunal found that the respondent carried on business at Westhoughton, Bolton, where there were approximately 93 employees. On 27 January 2022 the workforce was told that the respondent had been placed into administration and that all employees were either redundant or would be deemed redundant from that date, with immediate effect. The tribunal also found that there were no elected representatives, and that the recognised trade union arrangement did not apply to the claimant.

The tribunal held that there had been no proper warning or notice given to, or consultation with, the appropriate representatives, and that the claimant was dismissed without any consultation or advance notice. It therefore found a breach of section 188 of TULRCA and made a protective award under section 189 for the maximum protected period of 90 days beginning on 27 January 2022.

The judgment records that this was a protective-award decision only and that no financial award was quantified at this stage. It also notes that the claimant would have to seek payment of the individual award later, and that the Employment Protection (Recoupment of Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support) Regulations 1996 apply.