Mr P Nykiel v Mulroy Civil Engineering Scotland Ltd — 2021

Mr P Nykiel began work for Mulroy Civil Engineering Scotland Ltd on 1 March 2014 as a Groundworker. He earned £468 gross per week, with net weekly take-home pay of £367. On 23 March 2020 he attended work as normal, but the following day he was told to stay at home because there was no work available. About a week later he received a letter saying the company had had to close down because there was no work available, together with a P45.

The tribunal accepted that the reason for dismissal was redundancy, which it treated as a potentially fair reason within section 98(2)(c) Employment Rights Act 1996. It noted that all employees were made redundant at the same time because the company was closing, so there was no issue about selection for redundancy. Although the respondent had not warned or consulted the claimant about redundancy, the tribunal found that warning and consultation would have been "utterly useless" or "futile" in the circumstances because the business had no work and was closing.

For that reason, the unfair dismissal claim failed and the tribunal held that the dismissal was fair. The tribunal then found that the claimant was entitled to a redundancy payment under section 135 Employment Rights Act 1996 because he had been dismissed by reason of redundancy. It calculated that payment at £4,212, being 9 weeks at £468 gross per week.

The tribunal also awarded 6 days' holiday pay for accrued but untaken leave before termination, which the claimant had calculated at £480. The judgment therefore records total monetary awards of £4,212 for redundancy payment and £480 for holiday pay, with no separate award for unfair dismissal.