Case 3307272/2023 · Employment Tribunal
Ms M Cornhill & Others v Kettle Interiors UK Ltd (in administration) and 1 other — 2024
- Case reference
- 3307272/2023
- Decision date
- 16 May 2024
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Foxwell Date
Parties
3 namedKey findings
Tribunal's reasoningThe Tribunal held that the respondent failed to comply with section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, so the claim for a protective award succeeded. It found that the claimants worked at the respondent’s Corby establishment, that there were more than 20 employees there, and that 20 or more employees were made redundant or placed at risk of redundancy on or within 90 days of 24 March 2023.
The Tribunal also found that the claimants were dismissed during that period without any consultation having taken place. There was no recognised trade union or elected employee representatives at the establishment, and the claims were presented within the statutory time limit. The first respondent, which was in administration, did not file a response; its administrators acknowledged that they had not consulted with the claimants about redundancies and consented to the claims proceeding.
The second respondent filed a response only to assist the Tribunal and had no direct knowledge of events, so the Tribunal considered it disproportionate to convene a hearing. Applying the principle that protective awards are punitive and should normally be for the maximum period unless there are circumstances making it just not to do so, the Tribunal made a protective award for the claimants dismissed on or after 24 March 2023 for a protected period of 90 days. The Recoupment Regulations apply.
Claims and outcomes
1 finding recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade union | Protective award claim under section 188 TULRCA 1992. The tribunal made a 90-day protected period beginning on 24 March 2023; no separate monetary amount was quantified in the judgment. | Upheld | — | — |
Legal tests applied
2 references- s.188 TULRCA 1992
- protective awards are punitive and should be for the maximum period unless there are circumstances making it just not to do so
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How we got this data
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