Ms J Rutter and others v Laura Ashley Ltd (In Administration) and others: 1805581/2020 and others
[1]The claimants in the attached Schedule to this Judgment (the “Claimants”) were all employed by the First and Second Respondents. The First Respondent (Laura Ashley Limited (in Administration)), changed its name to the Second Respondent (AL Realisations Limited (in Administration)) on 22 April 2020, by way of special resolution. Both names relate to the same entity.[2]Robert Nicholas Lewis and Zelf Hussain were appointed as joint administrators of the First, Second, Third and Fifth Respondents on 23 March 2020 and Rachael Maria Wilkinson was appointed as a joint administrator of those Respondents on 17 April 2020. On 3 July 2020, Anthony John Wright and Paul Allen of FRP Advisory were appointed as additional administrators of the Second and Fifth Respondents.[3]Between 29 August 2020 and 7 September 2020, the Claimants were dismissed by the First and Second Respondents by reason of redundancy on the dates set out in the Schedule.[4]The Claimants have raised a complaint pursuant to section 189 of The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (“the Act”) and are seeking a protective award in respect of failure to consult in accordance with s.188 and s.188A of the Act.[5]The parties accept that the Claimants listed in the Schedule to this Judgment were all assigned to an establishment where 20 or more redundancies were proposed by their employer within a period of 90 days. The First and Second Respondents did not fully inform and consult with these Claimants in accordance with the provisions of s.188 and s.188A of the Act.[6]The Tribunal makes a protective award in favour of the Claimants listed in the Schedule to this Judgment for a protected period of 35 days, capped at the amount payable by the Redundancy Payments Service (“RPS”) in accordance with the RPS’s own regulations and limits and subject to any deductions required by law.[7]The parties agree that for the purposes of this Consent Judgment, the protected period in relation to each of the Claimants begins on their respective termination date as set out in the Schedule and lasts for 35 days.[8]There is no order requiring any party to pay or reimburse another party’s costs or fees. Each party shall bear their own costs and fees.[9]For the avoidance of doubt, this Consent Judgment applies to the Claimants listed in the attached Schedule only and it is agreed that the claims listed in the Schedule are extinguished in their entirety by this Consent Judgment.[10]The Recoupment Regulations apply to this Judgment. For the avoidance of doubt, any recoupment notice does not apply to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. NOTES Useful information[1]All judgments and any written reasons for the judgments are published, in full, online at https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions shortly after a copy has been sent to the claimants and respondents.[2]You can appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal if you think a legal mistake was made in an Employment Tribunal decision. There is more information here: https://www.gov.uk/appeal-employment-appeal-tribunal Employment Judge Deeley 13 July 2021 Schedule - Claimants who are entitled to a protective award for a 35 day period and are included within the scope of the Consent Judgment Claimants with Termination Date of 29 August 2020 Claim Numbers Name Name Termination Date 1805581/2020 Julie Rutter 29 August 2020 1805582/2020 Sarah Taylor 29 August 2020 1805583/2020 Diana Serrano 29 August 2020 1805584/2020 Mary Sanders 29 August 2020[5]1805587/2020 Caroline Walters-Davies 29 August 2020[6]1805588/2020 Hannah Aldred 29 August 2020 Claimants with Termination Date of 31 August 2020 Claim Numbers Name Name Termination Date 1805589/2020 Carol Morgan 31 August 2020[2]1805590/2020 Louise Barty 31 August 2020 Claimants with Termination Date of 1 September 2020 Claim Numbers Name Name Termination Date 1805591/2020 Tracy Mason 1 September 2020 1805592/2020 Louise Large 1 September 2020 1805593/2020 Sharon Brown 1 September 2020 1805594/2020 Marie Black 1 September 2020[5]1805595/2020 Jayne Stephenson 1 September 2020 Claimants with Termination Date of 7 September 2020 Claim Numbers Name Name Termination Date 1805604/2020 Michelle Not 7 September 2020