Mr J Brown and others v Harry Fairclough Ltd: 2405734/2020 and Others (see attached schedule)
REASONS
[1]The claimants claimed a protective award in respect of breaches of the collective consultation requirements under the 1992 Act. No response was presented to the claim by the respondent.[2]The respondent is in administration and the administrators have given consent for these claims to proceed.[3]On a full consideration of the file of proceedings it was possible to issue this Judgment under Rule 21 in respect of the claim for a protective award without a hearing. Code P under the case number above reflects this.[4]On the information provided, the Tribunal makes the following findings.[5]The respondent employed over 20 employees at each the site where the claimants were employed. There was no trade union recognised for collective bargaining, consultation or negotiation with the workforce at either site.[6]The employees were all told in a meeting on 20 February 2020 that the respondent was closing down and they were all being made redundant with immediate effect. The company went into administration on that date.[7]There was no proper warning or notice given to or consultation with the workforce. No employee representatives had been elected or appointed for any such consultation within Section 188A of the 1992 Act.[8]In these circumstances, the respondent is in breach of the duty under Section 188 of the 1992 Act and the Tribunal makes an award under Section 189 in favour of the claimants for the maximum protected period of 90 days commencing on 20 February 2020.[9]The respondent is advised of the provisions of Regulation 6 of the Employment Protection (Recoupment of Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support) Regulations 1996, such that, within 10 days of the decision in these proceedings being promulgated or as soon as is reasonably practicable, the respondent must comply with the provisions of Regulation 6 of the 1996 Regulations and, in particular, must supply to the Secretary of State the following information in writing: 9.1. the name, address and national insurance number of every employee to whom the award relates; and 9.2. the date of termination of the employment of each such employee.[10]The respondent will not be required to make any payment under the protective awards made until it has received a recoupment notice from the Secretary of State or notification that the Secretary of State does not intend to serve a recoupment notice having regard to the provisions of Regulation 7(2). The Secretary of State must normally serve such recoupment notice or notification on the employer within 21 days of receipt of the required information from the first respondent.