Case 2413421/2018 · Employment Tribunal
Ms J Kelly & others (see schedule) v Almtone Limited (t/a Canute Group) — 2021
- Case reference
- 2413421/2018
- Decision date
- 12 January 2021
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Ainscough Date
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Ms J Kelly & others (see schedule)
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningEmployment Judge Ainscough made the decision under Rule 21 on the papers after the respondent entered administration and the administrators consented. The tribunal had previously held on 18 November 2019 that there had been no TUPE transfer to other distribution companies and that the claimants remained employed by the Canute companies immediately before Almtone Ltd bought them on 12 May 2018. The tribunal accepted that the respondent employed over 20 employees, that the United Road Transport Union was recognised, and that after the purchase there was no proper warning, notice or consultation with the workforce.
On that basis the section 188 TULRCA 1992 complaint was well founded and the tribunal made a protective award under section 189(3) for the maximum protected period of 90 days beginning on 12 May 2018. It also held that the related claims for unlawful deduction from wages, redundancy payment, minimum notice pay, breach of contract and holiday pay were well founded. Redundancy awards were calculated under section 162 ERA 1996 using the statutory age and service bands; notice pay was calculated by reference to each claimant's basic weekly pay and years of service; and holiday pay was calculated by reference to accrued leave on termination.
The judgment then set out individual gross awards for each claimant, including wage deductions, redundancy payments where due, notice pay and holiday pay. Examples included Paul Barker's awards of £691.74, £6,917.68 and £5,435.32; Lee Collins' awards of £797.44, £11,430, £6,835.32 and £1,287.30; Peter Balmforth's redundancy award of £14,224; and Joan Kelly's redundancy award of £10,350. The judgment also directed the respondent to provide recoupment information to the Secretary of State within 10 days and did not state a single overall total figure.
Claims and outcomes
5 findings recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade union | Protective award under s.189 TULRCA 1992 for breach of the s.188 collective consultation duty; maximum 90-day protected period from 12 May 2018. | Upheld | — | — |
| Unlawful deduction from wages | Unauthorised deductions from wages were found for the named claimants; the gross awards were set individually, including deductions of 7 or 8 days' pay and one statutory sick pay deduction. | Upheld | — | — |
| Redundancy | Redundancy payments were awarded for the claimants found to have been dismissed by reason of redundancy; the tribunal used the statutory age and service bands in s.162 ERA 1996. | Upheld | — | — |
| Breach of contract | Notice pay was awarded under s.86 ERA 1996 and breach of contract, calculated by reference to basic weekly pay and service, subject to the statutory cap. | Upheld | — | — |
| Holiday pay | Holiday pay on termination was awarded under reg. 14 WTR 1998, using accrued leave figures for each claimant; Joan Kelly's calculation included carried-over leave. | Upheld | — | — |
Legal tests applied
6 references- s.188 and s.189 TULRCA 1992
- s.13 ERA 1996
- s.135 ERA 1996
- s.86 ERA 1996
- s.162(2)(a) and (b) ERA 1996
- reg.14 WTR 1998
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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