Mr T Phillips v Pro Security and Response Ltd (In Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation): 6003992/2025
JUDGMENT
[1]The dismissal was in breach of contract and the claimant is entitled to nine weeks' pay at £682 per week, amounting to £6,138.[2]The claimant was made redundant and is entitled to a statutory redundancy payment calculated on the basis of 13.5 weeks’ pay (1.5 weeks per year of service) in the sum of £9,207.[3]The total amount due is therefore £15,345.REASONS
[1]By way of background, Mr Phillips has brought claims against the company for a statutory redundancy payment and notice pay, following the loss of his job on 31 December 2024. The respondent is a security company and provides security staff to work at client premises. Mr Phillips was one of their security guards. He was sent a letter on 14 November informing him that the contract would be coming to an end on 31 December 2024. Page 1 of 4[2]It is clear that there was then some discussion about the possibility of alternative employment. Mr Phillips had a meeting with his employer on 10 December and another job was suggested but he cannot drive and has limited mobility so it was not really suitable.[3]His account, as set out in the claim form, is that he said that he would do it on a trial basis, at which point the respondent withdrew the offer. The respondent’s case is that they withdrew it because he refused the offer.[4]He had been with the company since 7 August 2015 so had over nine years continuous service, but he has not brought a claim of unfair dismissal, reflecting the fact that it would be very difficult now to enforce any award against the company. The loss of this particular contract seems to have led to a wider collapse and the company went into liquidation last week, on 28 May 2025. He is however able to pursue claims for notice pay and statutory redundancy pay and these are sums which can be recovered from the Redundancy Payments Office.[5]The fact that the company has entered liquidation does not affect these proceedings and so I proceeded with the hearing. Standard directions for exchange of documents were given at the same time as the notice of hearing but I had nothing from the company, save for an email from a Mr Jefcoate which arrived today. In it, he takes issue with some of the points made in the claim form but his comments are directed to the fairness of the process followed rather than the outcome, and in particular the withdrawal of the alternative offer. He did not say anything directly about the claim for notice pay or a statutory redundancy payment. Those comments are in fact almost identical to the response form which was submitted by the company. He also confirmed that he would not be attending.[6]Among the documents that Mr Phillips supplied was a letter containing the legal advice he had received from a firm of solicitors he consulted. That is unusual in that they gave him negative advice that it would not be viable for them to pursue a claim on his behalf given the financial position of the company.[7]That letter also considered the prospects of success in a claim of unfair dismissal, although as already mentioned that has not been pursued.[8]All that is necessary for Mr Phillips to show, in order to be entitled to a statutory redundancy payment is, as set out in section 135 Employment Rights Act 1996 that he was dismissed by the employer by reason of redundancy.[9]By section 139, and with some simplification, that means that the dismissal was either wholly or mainly attributable to the fact that:(a) his employer has ceased or intends to cease to carry on the business for the purpose of which the employee was employed by him; or Page 2 of 4(b) the requirements of the business for employees to carry out work of a particular kind in the place where he was employed have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish.[10]It is clear on the facts set out in the claim form that the employer did cease to carry on the security business in which he was employed, and in any event if they did not altogether cease, their requirement for security guards working there ceased or diminished.[11]The only potential difficulty with that is the offer of alternative employment. If it was a suitable alternative, and Mr Phillips refused it, then he deprived himself of the right to a redundancy payment. However, I accept that it was not a suitable offer as it involved driving duties and Mr Phillips does not drive. That was not disputed in the response form or elsewhere and so there is no reason why he would not be entitled to a statutory redundancy payment. If that is wrong for any reason, the fact is that the employer accepts that it withdrew the offer. They appear to blame Mr Phillips for the fact that the position was not suitable but that does not address why his contract came to an end, which followed the loss of this contract.[12]According to the figures in the claim form, which were not disputed in the response form, he earned £2,954 per month, ignoring pence, or £682 per week.[13]Given his age, all nine years were served over the age of 41 and so each year earns an entitlement to 1.5 weeks’ pay, or 13.5 weeks in total. That amounts to £9,207.[14]The entitlement to notice pay is also straightforward. I gave consideration to whether the letter of 14 November 2024 gave Mr Phillips notice of termination of his employment but in fact it simply informed him that the contract would be coming to an end on 31 December. That then led to discussions about the alternative position. If those discussions had borne fruit then clearly his employment would not have ended on 31 December 2024. It would be most unusual for notice to be given before those discussions about alternative vacancies had concluded and there was nothing in the letter to lead to that conclusion. There was no subsequent letter to make the position clear or alter that view and so I conclude that he was entitled to his fully statutory minimum notice period of 9 weeks from the point when the contract ended.[15]On that basis, nine weeks’ pay at £682 per week is £6,138 and those two totals amount to £15,345.