The claimant presented a claim for unfair dismissal, arrears of pay/holiday pay/notice pay and breach of contract against the respondent. The tribunal had previously been satisfied that there had been a relevant transfer, pursuant to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006.

The claimant received correspondence from the respondent on 6th March 2013 that due to the economic downturn in the hotel industry she ‘could not be maintained in her current role in the company’. Believing herself to have been unfairly dismissed the claimant contacted the respondent in an attempt to recover unpaid wages and notice pay, which was denied. Within a very short period the Hotel ceased to operate as a going concern, however the respondent continued in existence. The dismissal of the claimant was held to have been automatically unfairly dismissed. The respondent failed to comply, in any way, with the statutory dismissal procedure when it dismissed the claimant for redundancy, without notice. 

PRACTICAL LESSONS

Whilst the tribunal had no hesitation finding that the dismissal was automatically unfair, the awarding of an uplift to the compensatory award deserves attention. The tribunal recognised that the ‘culpability’ in failing to employ the statutory procedures was of primary importance, but given the fact the Hotel ceased to operate as a going concern by on or about 10 April 2013, the tribunal limited the uplift to 10% in the circumstances. Other authorities cited by the tribunal saw uplifts of 40% and 50% in much similar circumstances, but the tribunal adopted a sensible approach here taking cognisance of the financial reality of the respondent’s situation.