Mr G Descoteaux v Late Rooms Limited (in Administration) — 2021

This was a Rule 21 judgment after no valid response had been presented. The tribunal held that the respondent failed to consult with the claimant as a person who may be affected by proposals to dismiss, or measures taken in connection with the dismissal of, 20 or more employees, in breach of s.188(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The tribunal therefore found the claimant entitled to a protective award. It stated that the award was for a protected period of 90 days from 2 August 2019, but made no financial award at this stage because a protective award is treated as a two-stage process. The claimant must seek payment of the individual award from the respondent or the Secretary of State and quantify it separately.

The judgment also dealt with a possible notice pay claim, but did not determine it. The tribunal said it needed further information and documentary evidence before any notice pay award could be calculated, including the claimant's gross monthly salary with the respondent, evidence of any contractual three months' notice entitlement, his gross monthly salary in new employment, and a full breakdown of payments received after termination. The claimant had said he had obtained another post soon after dismissal and that his gross monthly salary in that post was £4,166, but the tribunal found the bank-account details provided were not sufficient.

The tribunal also noted that payments into the claimant's bank account from "INSS RPS" may have been Redundancy Payments Service payments, and that any such sums would need to be taken into account if notice pay were pursued further. It recorded that any dispute about payment of the protective award would become a separate claim under s.192 of the same Act.