Mrs S Devennie v Short Richardson and Forth Limited In Voluntary Liquidation — 2023

The tribunal entered judgment under Rule 21 because the respondent did not present a response. The liquidator had informed the tribunal that he did not intend to admit or defend the claim after the respondent entered voluntary liquidation.

The tribunal found that on 5 September 2022 the respondent informed employees that it would cease providing legal services after 30 September 2022 and proposed to dismiss 20 or more employees at its Newcastle office as redundant. It found there was no proper warning or consultation with a recognised trade union or with the claimant, and no employee representatives had been elected or appointed. On that basis, the tribunal held that the respondent was in breach of section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and made the maximum protective award for a 90-day protected period beginning on 30 September 2022.

The tribunal also found that the claimant was entitled to payment for 20.14 days of accrued but untaken annual leave. After crediting a partial payment already made by the Redundancy Payment Services, it awarded £1,621.57 net for holiday pay. It further found that the claimant was entitled to three months' contractual notice pay, had received none, and had been summarily dismissed on 30 September 2022, so it awarded £9,774.21 net for wrongful dismissal. No award was made for pension contributions because that issue was being dealt with by Clumber Consultancy.