1) Mr T Armstrong and others 2) GMB and others 3) Mr R Milne and others 4) Mr L Fletcher and others 5) Mr M Notley and others v 1) Godfrey Syrett Limited (in administration) 2) The Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy — 2019

The tribunal accepted that GMB was a recognised union for employees based at the Killingworth site. It found that, when the first respondent announced the closure of the Langley Moor site around the end of November 2018, there was no recognised union there and no attempt to carry out collective consultation as required by sections 188 to 189 of TULRA. Mr Armstrong was asked to undertake some individual consultation at Langley Moor even though he was not at risk of redundancy and had not been elected as an employee representative.

The tribunal found that the individual consultation at Langley Moor was meaningless and effectively a complete sham because the decision to close the site had already been taken and employee comments were ignored. It also found that, when the company later decided on 9 January 2019 to close all of its sites, including Langley Moor, Killingworth and Belmont, there was no consultation with any employees and no collective consultation at all in relation to that decision. Most employees were dismissed on 9 January 2019, with a few remaining to assist the administrators.

Applying the guidance in Susie Radin Limited v GMB and others and R v British Coal Corporation and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry ex parte Price and others, the tribunal held that all complaints under section 189 TULRA were well founded. It ordered protective awards of 90 days' pay to employees at the Killingworth, Belmont and Langley Moor sites, and to employees who worked remotely or from home, covering those dismissed on or after 9 January 2019 who brought claims before the tribunal. The tribunal noted that the first respondent was in administration and that any award would be paid by the Secretary of State and limited to 8 weeks' pay.