Mr R Meddicks v AM Fabrication (Norther) Ltd (In Administration) — 2021

Mr R Meddicks had been employed by AM Fabrication (Norther) Ltd for just under 3.5 years. He had been in and out of furlough from March 2020, and from about May/June 2021 until his dismissal he was on furlough. The tribunal found there had been talk of obtaining new contracts, but there had been no warning of imminent redundancies or that the company was to cease trading.

The tribunal found there was no invitation to elect employee representatives and a wholesale failure to provide the information required by section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, with no warning and no consultation. It accepted that the pandemic may have contributed to the respondent ceasing to trade, but there was no evidence enabling it to identify the cause. The tribunal said the pandemic did not automatically create special circumstances excusing compliance, and in any event the respondent had taken no steps towards compliance. Relying on Susie Radin Ltd v GMB & Others, it held that the appropriate protective award was 90 days.

At remedy, the tribunal recorded the claimant's gross weekly pay as £480 and ordered remuneration for the protected period beginning on 15 July 2021. It also noted that, because the claimant had recovered his notice pay from the Secretary of State, no award was made in respect of the wrongful dismissal/breach of contract complaint.