A group of Unite members have won compensation after they were made redundant when steel giant, Caparo Precision Tubes Limited, entered Administration.
Many of the workforce turned up for work only to be told that their jobs were redundant, or they were told by telephone or in writing if they were absent from work. The company continued to trade and was sold to a third party just a few weeks after the redundancies, and all of the remaining employees had their employment transferred to the new company.
Unite Legal Services supported a claim in the Employment Tribunal against the company in administration and the government. Unite Legal Services argued at an Employment Tribunal hearing that there was a complete failure by the company and its administrators to engage in proper and meaningful consultation about proposed redundancies of Unite members, as is required by law.
A Birmingham Employment Tribunal found that the legal failings were “very serious” and awarded the maximum protective award of 90 days’ wages. An Employment Tribunal will rule at a later date whether the individual dismissals were also unfair.
Unite members who benefit from the Employment Tribunal’s judgment will receive their compensation without deduction of legal costs, unlike high street non-panel solicitors who charge a percentage of compensation for their legal costs.
This Employment Tribunal judgment is the latest successful protective award claim brought by Unite and its members. Last year, Unite Legal Services and its solicitors were successful in obtaining the maximum 90 days’ wages on many occasions and this included the claim against the collapsed parcel delivery company City Link.
