Claimant v Thomas Cook Airlines Ltd (In Compulsory Liquidation) and others — 2021

The claimants brought claims for a protective award arising from alleged breaches of the collective consultation requirements in section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. No response was presented by the first to sixth respondents, and the Official Receiver later confirmed that they would not be contesting the protective award claims. The tribunal therefore determined the matter under rule 21 without a hearing.

On the information before it, the tribunal found that the first to sixth respondents employed more than 20 employees at the relevant sites and that the Transport Salaried Staff Association and Unite the Union were recognised trade unions for the bargaining units identified in the judgment. It also found that several of the individual claimants were not members of a recognised trade union and were not part of the relevant bargaining units at their sites.

The respondents went into compulsory liquidation on 23 September 2019, the Official Receiver was appointed at 1:47am that day, and later that day the claimants were notified that their employment had terminated with immediate effect. The tribunal found that there had been no proper warning or notice to, or consultation with, the recognised trade unions or the individual claimants, and that no employee representatives had been elected or appointed for consultation under section 188A.

The tribunal held that the respondents were in breach of the duty under section 188 and made an award under section 189 in favour of the claimants for the maximum protected period of 90 days commencing on 23 September 2019. It also stated that the Employment Protection (Recoupment of Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support) Regulations 1996 applied and set out the information the first to sixth respondents would need to provide to the Secretary of State for recoupment purposes.