Claimant v Styles & Wood Ltd (In Administration) — 2023

The respondent did not contest the claims. Employment Judge McDonald decided the matter alone under Rule 21. The tribunal found that the respondent had no recognised trade union for collective bargaining or consultation, and no elected representatives were in place. The claimant was told the respondent was to be, or had been, placed into administration on 26, 27 or 28 February 2020, and the first redundancies took effect on 28 February 2020.

The tribunal found that the respondent employed over 200 employees at the establishment and that they were dismissed on, or around, the same date. There was no proper warning or notice to the workforce, no employee representatives had been elected or appointed under section 188A, and the dismissals were implemented without consultation or written information in advance. On that basis, the tribunal held that the respondent was in breach of section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Under section 189 of the same Act, the tribunal made a protective award in favour of the claimant for the maximum protected period of 90 days beginning on 28 February 2020. The judgment states that this was a protective-award decision only and that no financial award was made at this stage; the claimant would need to quantify any individual payment later. The judgment also records the recoupment provisions under the Employment Protection (Recoupment of Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support) Regulations 1996.

The claimant’s claims for notice pay, unpaid holiday and unpaid pension were withdrawn by email dated 15 January 2023. Those claims were dismissed on withdrawal. The judgment therefore resolves the collective consultation claim only, with the remaining monetary claims not determined on their merits.