Ms S Sherwood 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, and the liquidator had indicated that the claim would not be admitted or defended. The tribunal proceeded on the basis of the claimant’s information.

The tribunal found that the respondent proposed to dismiss 20 or more employees as redundant and that dismissals took effect between 30 September 2022 and 30 November 2022. It found there had been no proper warning or consultation with a recognised trade union or with the claimant, and no employee representatives had been elected or appointed for consultation. The tribunal therefore found a breach of section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and made a protective award for the maximum protected period of 90 days beginning on 30 September 2022.

The tribunal also found the wrongful dismissal claim well-founded. It held that the claimant was entitled to four weeks’ contractual notice pay and, after taking account of a partial payment already received from the Redundancy Payment Services, ordered the respondent to pay the remaining net notice pay. No award was made for redundancy pay or holiday pay because the claimant did not wish to pursue those claims, and no award was made for pension contributions because that matter was being dealt with elsewhere.