An employment tribunal has made protective awards of 90 days’ pay over City Link’s failure to carry out a redundancy consultation before its closure in late 2014, according to a law firm that represented a number of the insolvent company’s former staff.
Redundancy consultation: tribunal rules in favour of former City Link workers
An employment tribunal has ruled in favour of a number of former City Link workers who have established that the firm failed in its statutory duty to consult with them about impending redundancies, says law firm Morrish Solicitors.
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Employees at City Link found out over Christmas 2014 that the company was closing. Many employees found out while watching television over the Christmas period.
City Link was placed in administration on Christmas Eve 2014 and its employees were made redundant shortly after.
The company’s former employees in England and Wales brought a claim over the company’s failure to carry out redundancy consultation. Employers are required to carry out redundancy consultation when 20 or more employees are to be dismissed at one establishment.
Morrish Solicitors, which represented a number of former City Link staff in the case, said that the employment tribunal has awarded a number of claimants the maximum protective award of 90 days’ pay.
The tribunal considered that a “conscious decision” was taken not to inform the employees of the financial problems, nor to carry out any redundancy consultation.
Daniel Kindell, associate at Morrish Solicitors stated: “We are delighted to have been able to secure the best possible result in this case. We hope the tribunal’s decision gives ex-employees of City Link some sense of justice.”
Kindell continued: “It can only be described as a travesty that successful claimants can only claim a small proportion of this award from the Government’s National Insurance Fund and City Link can continue to rely on its state of insolvency to the further detriment of those who worked so hard for it.”
The judgment is the third case to conclude on City Link’s failure to comply with redundancy consultation laws before it folded.
In Lee and others v City Link Ltd (in administration), a Northern Ireland tribunal also awarded protective awards of 90 days’ pay to former City Link employees.
Criminal action was taken against three ex-directors of City Link over their failure to notify the Government of proposed redundancies. The directors were acquitted.
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