Engineers win Employment Tribunal challenge after being made redundant without notice
A group of engineers who were dismissed without notice when the company they worked for went into administration have been awarded 90 days’ pay at an Employment Tribunal.
Engineering design firm Morgan Tucker Ltd, which was based in Nottingham but also had offices in London and Leeds, collapsed in May 2017, leaving 65 former members of staff without a job.
According to reports, a failed attempt to expand into the Middle East left the company facing severe financial pressures, which ultimately led to the firm’s demise.
Morgan Tucker’s employees, who worked across four UK offices, were dismissed without consultation or notice – a decision many felt was grossly unfair.
At a recent Employment Tribunal hearing, a group of 46 former Morgan Tucker workers claimed that the company’s actions were in breach of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992.
They pointed out that the Act effectively states that, in these situations, employees should always be consulted prior to redundancy in an effort to reduce the number of workers that might need to be dismissed and to mitigate the wider implications of such dismissals.
Examining the evidence at the Tribunal, Employment Judge Peter Britton found that Morgan Tucker had failed to act in accordance with the law.
As a result of this, he found in favour of the 46 former workers and awarded each 90 days’ worth of pay – the maximum level of compensation.
Hayley Trovato, Senior Associate and employment expert with OGR Stock Denton, said: “This case serves to highlight the importance of employers following the proper redundancy consultation procedure. This is regardless of whether the redundancy is genuine.
“Failure to properly consult or failing to consult at all, gives an employee a right to make a claim at the Employment Tribunal. It is therefore always best practice for employers to follow a fair redundancy consultation process.
“As seen here, the consequences for failing to do so can be costly.”
Please contact our specialist employment team for more advice on redundancy procedures and any other employment-related matters.
