Mr K Atkinson and Others v Tolent Construction Ltd “In Administration”: 2501070/2023 and Others
JUDGMENT
ON LIABILITY AND REMEDY The Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 – Rule 22 The Judgment of the Employment Tribunal is as follows:[1]The claimants’ claims under section 189 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (“the 1992 Act”) of a failure by the respondent to comply with the requirements of section 188 of the 1992 Act are well-founded.[2]The Tribunal orders the respondent, by way of protective award under section 189 (3) of the 1992 Act, to pay to the claimants named on the attached schedule a payment equivalent to remuneration for the period of 90 days beginning on 13 February 2023.[3]The Employment Protection (Recoupment of Jobseekers Allowance and Income Support) Regulations 1996 apply to these awards. The protected period is the period of 90 days beginning on 13 February 2023.[4]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 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:a. the name, address and national insurance number of the employee to whom the award relates;b. the date of termination of the employment of the employee.[5]The respondent will not be required to make any payment under the protective award 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 respondent.REASONS
[1]The claimants submitted claims to the Employment Tribunal on 23 May 2023 for a protective award.[2]The respondent entered into administration on 13 February 2023. A copy of the ET1 forms were sent by the Tribunal to the administrator on 21 June 2023. The respondent did not enter a response. The respondent’s administrator agreed to the lifting of the moratorium to enable the claims for protective awards only to proceed.[3]The Secretary of State for Business and Trade was joined as an interested party under Rule 96 of the Employment Tribunals (Constitution & Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013 (now Rule 95 of the 2024 Procedure Rules) and copies of the ET1 forms were provided by the Tribunal.[4]In February 2023 the respondent proposed to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees at each of the following sites: Cleveland House, Dukes Court, Teesside Industrial Estate, Thornaby, Stockton on Tees; Derwent House, Lakeside Court, 5th Avenue Business Park, Team Valley, Gateshead; Colton House, Bullerthorpe Lane, Leeds. The first dismissal took effect on 13 February 2023.[5]There was no proper warning or consultation undertaken with a recognised trade union or the claimants. There was no consultation with the claimants and no employee representatives had been elected or appointed for any such consultation within section 188A of the 1992 Act.[6]In the 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 13 February 2023.[7]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 ten 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:a. The names, addresses and national insurance numbers of the claimants to whom the award relates; andb. The date of termination of the employment of the claimants.[8]The respondent will not be required to make any payment under the protective award 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 respondent.[9]As the respondent had indicated it did not wish to defend the claims, the above Judgment has been entered without a hearing on the basis of the information provided by the claimants and in accordance with Rule 21 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013. Approved by: Employment Judge Arullendran 29 July 2025 Notes All judgments (apart from judgments under Rule 51) 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. SCHEDULE OF CLAIMANTS 2501070/2023 Mr Kieran Atkinson 2501072/2023 Mr Harvey Barker 2501073/2023 Mr Kevin Barker 2501076/2023 Miss Kaye Bell 2501077/2023 Mr Colin Bloomfield 2501081/2023 Miss Robyn Brown 2501082/2023 Mrs Emma Brummitt 2501088/2023 Mr Paul Burton 2501098/2023 Mr Simon Cotton 2501100/2023 Mr William Cowey 2501103/2023 Mrs Wanda Curtis 2501104/2023 Miss Melissa Daglish 2501107/2023 Mr Rob Davies 2501121/2023 Mr Lee Duncan 2501122/2023 Mr Anthony Dunn 2501130/2023 Mr Barry French 2501137/2023 Mr Paul Grant 2501144/2023 Ms Sandra Harris 2501149/2023 Mr Nigel Hatton 2501153/2023 Mrs Allison Hold 2501157/2023 Mr Andrew Jackson 2501164/2023 Mr David Knowles 2501168/2023 Mr Marek Lipinski 2501172/2023 Miss Suzanne Lyon 2501174/2023 Mr Jeremy Marley 2501177/2023 Mr David McAuliffe 2501184/2023 Mr Paul McNaught 2501187/2023 Mr Matteo Minchella 2501188/2023 Mr Matthew Moore 2501201/2023 Mr Martin Oliver 2501205/2023 Mr Thomas Parker 2501206/2023 Mr Alan Pearson 2501210/2023 Mr Liam Raine 2501212/2023 Mr Charley Roberts 2501216/2023 Mr Robert Russell 2501221/2023 Mr Andrew Shaw 2501225/2023 Mr Carl Sissons 2501235/2023 Mr Jordan Stonehouse 2501236/2023 Mr Michael Stonehouse 2501239/2023 Mrs Kate Swann 2501249/2023 Mr John Tranter 2501251/2023 Mr Jan Van Stekelenburg 2501264/2023 Mr Jonathan Westgarth 2501266/2023 Mr John Wigmore 2501268/2023 Mr Oliver Wilkinson 2501269/2023 Mrs Joanne Wilson