Case 2502335/2023 · Employment Tribunal
Mr M Reay v Secretary of State for Business & Trade — 2024
- Case reference
- 2502335/2023
- Decision date
- 27 February 2024
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Loy
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Mr M Reay
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThe claimant brought claims against the Secretary of State for Business and Trade arising from the insolvency of The Sona Furniture Group Limited. The claims were for a redundancy payment, arrears of wages, unpaid holiday pay, and unpaid notice.
The tribunal found that the claimant was not an employee of The Sona Furniture Group Limited within section 230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 at the date when the company became insolvent. On that basis, it held that the respondent had no liability to the claimant under Part XII of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
The tribunal therefore held that the claims for a redundancy payment, arrears of wages, unpaid holiday pay, and unpaid notice were not well founded and all failed. Reasons were given orally at the hearing; the written judgment records the outcome but not the detailed oral reasoning.
Claims and outcomes
4 findings recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redundancy | Claim for a redundancy payment against the Secretary of State under the insolvency provisions failed because the tribunal found the claimant was not an employee of The Sona Furniture Group Limited at the date of insolvency. | Dismissed | — | — |
| Unlawful deduction from wages | The judgment describes this as a claim for arrears of wages; it was not well founded and failed. | Dismissed | — | — |
| Holiday pay | The claim for unpaid holiday pay was not well founded and failed. | Dismissed | — | — |
| Wrongful dismissal | The judgment describes this as a claim for unpaid notice; it was not well founded and failed. | Dismissed | — | — |
Legal tests applied
2 references- section 230 Employment Rights Act 1996
- Part XII Employment Rights Act 1996
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How we got this data
Case essentials (reference, date, judge, venue, country, claim categories) are extracted from the structured metadata gov.uk publishes alongside each decision. Parties and monetary figures are extracted from the judgment PDF text. Key findings and per-claim outcomes require a second extraction pass that is not yet complete for this case — until then, the primary source linked above is the authoritative record. See full methodology.
Named in this case and want it removed? Submit a takedown request. The page will be withdrawn on receipt and the editor will follow up within five working days.