Mr S Knowles and others (see Schedule) v Nationwide Crash Repair Centre and others (see Schedule) — 2021

This was a determination on the papers with no attendance by any party. The claimants listed in the schedule were employed by respondent group companies at Guardian Street, Warrington, and were dismissed by reason of redundancy on 4 September 2020. The tribunal found that the respondents did not fully inform and consult with the claimants in accordance with s.188 and s.188A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, and that the claimants had brought individual complaints under s.189 seeking protective awards.

The tribunal did not accede to the proposed consent order dated 14 September 2021 because it appeared that some claimants worked in smaller establishments where there was unlikely to have been a proposal to make 20 or more employees redundant, and because the proposed order included terms about ranking in the respondents' administrations, which the tribunal said it was not appropriate for it to determine. It was, however, satisfied from the information provided that Guardian Street, Warrington was an establishment where more than 20 people were proposed to be made redundant, relying on USDAW and anor v Ethel Austin Ltd and ors [2015] ICR 675.

The tribunal therefore made a protective award for the maximum period of 90 days in favour of the claimants at Guardian Street, Warrington. That included the claimants who had consented to the proposed order and also those who were only pursuing protective award claims and had not expressly indicated agreement, because the Administrators and the Secretary of State had indicated they would not be actively resisting the claims. No costs order was made, and the annex recorded the application of the Employment Protection (Recoupment of Benefits) Regulations 1996 to the award.