No Attendance For the v Respondent — 2020

The claimants, Mr A Hutton-Young and Mr G Park, brought protective award claims under section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 arising from Flybmi's collective redundancy exercise. The respondent was in administration from 18 February 2019, no defence was filed, and the case was decided on written submissions only. The tribunal accepted the claimants' undisputed evidence that the respondent proposed to dismiss 20 or more employees and that there was a complete failure to consult with Unite, employee representatives, or the affected employees themselves.

The tribunal found that the first dismissal took effect on 18 February 2019 and that the respondent had made no attempt to carry out consultation. It treated the employer's default as serious and noted that no mitigating circumstances had been pleaded. Referring to the guidance in Susie Radin Ltd v GMB and ors and the principle that the company's administration and ability to pay were not factors to consider, the tribunal started from the maximum protective period of 90 days and did not reduce it.

The tribunal held that the complaint of breach of section 188 TULR(C)A was well founded and made a protective award for each claimant for remuneration for the 90-day protected period starting on 18 February 2019. The judgment did not quantify the monetary amount because the award is expressed by reference to each claimant's remuneration.