Mr J-R Ward v & Others Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited (In Administration) and 1 other — 2020

The First Respondent went into administration on 4 January 2019 and the claimants were made redundant within 90 days of that date, most on the same day. The tribunal found there was no recognised trade union and no pre-existing forum for collective redundancy consultation, and that the First Respondent did not arrange elections for appropriate representatives.

The tribunal accepted evidence that employees were not consulted before or after administration about avoiding redundancies, reducing the number of dismissals, or mitigating their consequences. It found there was no opportunity for the workforce to make proposals about saving the business or jobs, despite the possibility of redundancies having been apparent for some time.

Applying the guidance in Susie Radin Ltd v GMB, the tribunal found no mitigating circumstance justifying a reduction from the maximum protective award. It made a 90-day protective award from 4 January 2019 for all claimants, including retained staff, and held that if the First Respondent was insolvent the Second Respondent must meet the liability subject to its statutory maximum under s.184 Employment Rights Act 1996.