A Kemp (sitting alone) Mr R Clark v Represented by: Ms S Ramsay Solicitor MacItalia Travel Limited and 1 other — 2019

Mr Ross Clark was employed by MacItalia Travel Limited from April 1995 as a manager. He was dismissed by email on 1 December 2017, the email referring to present financial pressures. The tribunal found that the First Respondent was in severe financial difficulty, had ceased to trade on or around 1 December 2017, and had dismissed both of its employees on that date.

The tribunal held that the dismissal was by reason of redundancy because the employer had ceased to carry on the business for which the Claimant was employed. It found that the Claimant had sent a written notice in accordance with section 164(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and was therefore entitled to a statutory redundancy payment. The tribunal noted that there was no evidence that the First Respondent was insolvent as defined in section 166, but found that the Claimant had taken all reasonable steps to recover payment from the Second Respondent before presenting the claim.

Using the Claimant's age of 46 at termination, 22 years of continuous service, and gross annual salary of £29,652, the tribunal calculated the statutory redundancy payment under section 162 of the 1996 Act at £11,002.50. That sum was awarded and was payable in the first instance by the First Respondent. No order was made against the Second Respondent at this stage, and the claim against it was sisted for two months so that an application for payment could be considered if the First Respondent did not pay.