Mr M Parkin Miss G Heneghan Mr D Stephens Mr I Straughan Miss S Shoemaker v Surgo Construction Limited “In Administration” — 2025

The tribunal held that Surgo Construction Limited, which was in administration, failed to comply with the section 188 collective consultation requirements before proposing to dismiss 20 or more employees as redundant. The reasons note that in March 2024 the respondent proposed to dismiss redundancies at Albany Court, Monarch Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, with total proposed redundancies in the region of 46, and that the first dismissal took effect on 13 March 2024.

The tribunal found there had been no proper warning or consultation with the recognised trade union or the claimants before 13 March 2024. It also found that no employee representatives had been elected or appointed for consultation under section 188A of the 1992 Act. On that basis, the tribunal concluded that the respondent was in breach of section 188 and awarded the claimants a protective award under section 189 for the maximum protected period of 90 days beginning on 13 March 2024.

The judgment was entered without a hearing on the papers under Rule 22 because the respondent filed no response. The tribunal also recorded that the administrator consented to the protective award claims proceeding, and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade was notified as an interested party for recoupment purposes. The extracted text does not specify a monetary figure for the protective award, only the 90-day protected period and the recoupment requirements.