the Union v Arjowiggins Scotland Ltd (in administration) — 2024

Employment Judge M Robison issued judgment on the available material under rule 21. The tribunal recorded that the claimant was entitled to bring the claim because the complaint concerned a failure relating to representatives of a trade union and the claimant was the relevant union. The respondent was in administration, but the administrator consented to the continuation of the proceedings by letter dated 15 March 2023. The response was struck out under Rule 37(1)(a) on 4 October 2023, although the respondent had stated an intention to defend the claim.

The tribunal found that the respondent proposed to dismiss as redundant more than 20 employees at one establishment, Stoneywood Mill, within a period of 90 days or less. Employees in the collective bargaining unit, identified as manual workers, were dismissed as redundant on 22 September 2022 at Stoneywood Mill.

The complaint that the respondent failed to comply with section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, by failing to consult the union representing affected employees before the first dismissal took effect, was well founded. The tribunal made a protective award and ordered the respondent to pay remuneration for a protected period beginning on 22 September 2022, the date of the first dismissal to which the complaint related, for 90 days. No monetary figure was stated in the judgment.