Mr M Byrne and others (see schedule attached) v Kenyon Haulage Limited (in administration) and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade — 2023

The First Respondent was placed into administration on 20 March 2023 and the claimants were dismissed with immediate effect on that date. The Tribunal found that the respondent employed about 97 employees, that around 90 were summarily dismissed on or around the same date, that all of the claimants worked at the same establishment, and that more than 20 employees were dismissed as redundant there. It also found there was no recognised trade union, no elected employee representatives, and no proper warning or consultation before the dismissals.

The claim was for a protective award arising from breach of the collective consultation requirements. No response was presented by the First Respondent. The Second Respondent, as statutory guarantor, did not accept or resist the claims but made representations that the Employment Judge considered. On the facts available, the Tribunal held that the First Respondent was in breach of section 188 of TULRCA.

The Tribunal therefore made a protective award under section 189 in favour of each claimant for the maximum protected period of 90 days beginning on 20 March 2023. The judgment states that this stage of the process did not involve a financial award being quantified. It records that the claimants must pursue payment of their individual awards separately, and that the Employment Protection (Recoupment of Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support) Regulations 1996 apply.