Case 2501671/2024 · Employment Tribunal

UNITE The Union v Surgo Construction Limited “In Administration” — 2024

Case reference: 2501671/2024
Decision date: 25 November 2024
Jurisdiction: England & Wales
Judge: Employment Judge Arullendran Date

Indexed: 21 May 2026

Parties

2 named

Claimant

UNITE The Union

Respondent

Surgo Construction Limited “In Administration”

Key findings

Tribunal's reasoning

The Tribunal found that Surgo Construction Limited, which entered administration on 14 March 2024, proposed to dismiss 20 or more employees as redundant at its Albany Court, Monarch Road, Newcastle upon Tyne site in March 2024, with the first dismissal taking effect on 13 March 2024. It found that there was no proper warning or consultation with the recognised trade union, UNITE, before that date, and that no employee representatives had been elected or appointed for consultation under section 188A.

The claim was brought by UNITE on 3 July 2024 on behalf of the employees for whom it had a recognition agreement with the respondent. The respondent did not file a response, the administrator indicated that the claim would not be admitted or defended, and the matter was decided on the papers under rule 21. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade made written submissions as a Rule 96 party and did not attend a hearing.

The Tribunal held that the section 188 complaint was well founded and made a protective award under section 189(3) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 for the maximum protected period of 90 days beginning on 13 March 2024. The award applies to the respondent's unskilled, skilled and craft employees covered by the recognition agreement who were employed at Albany Court and dismissed as redundant on or after 13 March 2024. The judgment also states that the named individuals in the related cases were included within the award, that the Employment Protection (Recoupment of Jobseekers Allowance and Income Support) Regulations 1996 apply, and that the respondent must provide the Secretary of State with the information required by regulation 6.

Claims and outcomes

1 finding recorded

Claim type	Issue or finding	Outcome	Protected characteristic	Award
Other	Protective award complaint under sections 188 and 189 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The Tribunal ordered remuneration for a protected period of 90 days beginning on 13 March 2024, but it did not state a quantified monetary sum. Paragraph 3 records that the named claimants in the related cases were included within the protective award even though their individual complaints were dismissed.	Upheld	—	—

Legal tests applied

8 references

Official outcome judgment PDF

Gov.uk primary record

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Open official judgment PDF on gov.uk

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