Miss J Adams and 100 Others Ms M Owen Ms L Baxter and 5 Others GMB GMB Mr P Joyce v FFP Realisations 2018 Limited – (In Administration), (Formerly Fogarty (Filled Products) Limited (In Administration) Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills — 2020

The tribunal found that on 29 October 2018 the vast majority of the workforce, over 100 employees, were made redundant when the business went into administration. It found there had been no consultation period and that the GMB, although it had a recognition agreement for hourly paid employees, was not consulted at all.

For employees not covered by that recognition agreement, including the salaried employees who had brought claims, the respondent did not invite the election of employee representatives and did not consult them individually. The tribunal held that the consultation provisions in section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 were not complied with at all, so the protected period began on 29 October 2018.

Applying section 190 and the guidance in Susie Radin Ltd v GMB [2004] EWCA Civ 180, the tribunal considered it just and equitable to make a protective award of 90 days' pay. It ordered that award for the hourly paid employees covered by the GMB recognition agreement and, otherwise, for each claimant who had presented a claim and was not covered by that agreement. The Secretary of State had been joined but did not attend or make representations.