Mr M Mazzucchi and others as named on the attached schedule v Crownfold Limited “In Voluntary Liquidation” — 2024

The tribunal found that on 16 June 2023 the respondent told the claimants that the business was closing and that they were dismissed with immediate effect. It found that 27 employees were dismissed as redundant on that date, but there had been no proper warning or consultation with a recognised trade union or with the claimants, and no employee representatives had been elected or appointed for consultation under section 188A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

On that basis, the tribunal held that the respondent was in breach of its duty under section 188 of the 1992 Act and that the claimants’ section 189 claims were well-founded. It made a protective award in favour of the claimants listed on the attached schedule for the maximum protected period of 90 days beginning on 16 June 2023.

The judgment records that the respondent had gone into voluntary liquidation on 5 July 2023 and that the liquidator had written to say they did not intend to admit or defend any claim. No response was received by the tribunal, so the judgment was entered without a hearing under Rule 21 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013, on the papers and on the information provided by the claimants. The tribunal also recorded that the recoupment regulations applied to the award and that payment would be subject to the Secretary of State’s recoupment notice process.