Mrs R Bruce v Crown and Country Leisure Limited — 2022

Mrs Bruce worked as a cleaner at The Chilton Country pub from 10 February 2006. The tribunal found that when new owners took over on 11 February 2020 there was a relevant transfer under TUPE to Crown and Country Leisure Limited, and that her employment continued through that transfer. She was furloughed in March 2020, returned to work on 22 July 2020, was furloughed again in November 2020, and on 25 June 2021 received an email saying the respondent was insolvent and that she was being made redundant.

At the hearing Mrs Bruce withdrew the unfair dismissal, notice pay, unauthorised deduction of wages, and holiday pay claims, and those claims were dismissed upon withdrawal. The tribunal then considered the statutory redundancy payment claim only. It found that the pub had closed, that there was a redundancy situation for the purposes of section 139 ERA 1996, and that Mrs Bruce had 15 complete years of continuous employment at the date of termination. Her average gross weekly pay in the relevant 12 weeks was found to be £263.15.

The tribunal also considered timeliness under section 164 ERA 1996. It found that the events referred to in section 164(1) had not occurred within six months of the relevant date, but exercised its discretion under section 164(2) on the basis that Mrs Bruce had made genuine attempts to understand the process, did not understand how to secure payment, genuinely waited for a CN number, and was due a redundancy payment. The tribunal ordered the respondent to pay £5,920.87 as a statutory redundancy payment.