Mr H Rafferty v Belmont Filmhouse Limited (In Administration) — 2023

This was a Rule 21 judgment on the papers in a claim against Belmont Filmhouse Limited (In Administration). The tribunal recorded that no response was presented within the applicable time limit, and that the administrator consented to the continuation of the proceedings by letter dated 18 January 2023.

The tribunal held that the claimant was entitled to bring the claim because none of the situations in s.189(1)(a), (b) or (c) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 applied and the claimant was an employee dismissed as redundant. It found that the respondent dismissed as redundant more than 20 employees at one establishment within a period of 90 days or less.

On the merits, the tribunal found the complaint that the respondent failed to comply with s.188 of the 1992 Act to be well founded. It found that the respondent failed to carry out any consultation at all with the appropriate representatives of affected employees in accordance with s.188.

The tribunal therefore made a protective award in respect of each claimant and ordered the respondent to pay remuneration for the protected period. The protected period was stated to begin on 6 October 2022 and to last for 90 days. No monetary sum was set out in the extracted judgment text.