Employment Tribunal Guidance
jayu619
Forumite 239 Posts
Good evening,
I am starting a thread for some tribunal advice.
Backstory:
9th Sep 2020 - 69 employees were made redundant and company has gone into liquidation
10th Sep 2020 - all 69 employees found out on this day that they were made redundant. Email received in the morning at 10am for all staff members to be on a call at 4pm the same day. We were joined by insolvency Practitioners on the afternoon call to be told we were made redundant as of yesterday.
14th Sep 2020 - notice received from IP stating the above. Mentions all employees to complete RP1 for unpaid wages, holidays, stat redundancy etc and then RP2 for notice pay. Nothing more.
The company we worked for, had filed for bankruptcy abroad back in May. Bankruptcy hearing was at the end of August 25th 2020. I suspect once they restructured their debt etc, we were all on the chopping block. All employees affected have now filled in RP1 and RP2 from redundancy payments service, but no one is aware of the protective award because none of us were given 30 days notices as prescribed by law. We were told a day after we were made redundant over a zoom call.
I had a quote from an employment lawyer who has quoted £2000+VAT based on 5 people bringing a claim to the ET. Any others wishing to join, will have to pay something of course. The same laqyer suggested that there is a strong case to win at ET, probably before going into a hearing as the likelihood of our company/IP will not be in a position to defend their case due to liquidation etc.
As we have until the 8th Dec to bring about a claim, I had the following few questions:
1. Can I represent the entire 69 members of staff? And how to go about doing so?
2. Is anyone available to help draft a strongly worded letter to ET in order for the judge to make a decision in our favor?
3. Do I need legal cases to back our case up etc?
4. Cost of applying to the ET?
Thank you in advance.
jay
I am starting a thread for some tribunal advice.
Backstory:
9th Sep 2020 - 69 employees were made redundant and company has gone into liquidation
10th Sep 2020 - all 69 employees found out on this day that they were made redundant. Email received in the morning at 10am for all staff members to be on a call at 4pm the same day. We were joined by insolvency Practitioners on the afternoon call to be told we were made redundant as of yesterday.
14th Sep 2020 - notice received from IP stating the above. Mentions all employees to complete RP1 for unpaid wages, holidays, stat redundancy etc and then RP2 for notice pay. Nothing more.
The company we worked for, had filed for bankruptcy abroad back in May. Bankruptcy hearing was at the end of August 25th 2020. I suspect once they restructured their debt etc, we were all on the chopping block. All employees affected have now filled in RP1 and RP2 from redundancy payments service, but no one is aware of the protective award because none of us were given 30 days notices as prescribed by law. We were told a day after we were made redundant over a zoom call.
I had a quote from an employment lawyer who has quoted £2000+VAT based on 5 people bringing a claim to the ET. Any others wishing to join, will have to pay something of course. The same laqyer suggested that there is a strong case to win at ET, probably before going into a hearing as the likelihood of our company/IP will not be in a position to defend their case due to liquidation etc.
As we have until the 8th Dec to bring about a claim, I had the following few questions:
1. Can I represent the entire 69 members of staff? And how to go about doing so?
2. Is anyone available to help draft a strongly worded letter to ET in order for the judge to make a decision in our favor?
3. Do I need legal cases to back our case up etc?
4. Cost of applying to the ET?
Thank you in advance.
jay
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If the company is in liquidation an/d you bring a case to ET and supposing and I repeat supposing you win and receive a monetary award from the Tribunal, the National Insurance Fund would only pay a proportion of your claim.
Spoke to a few lawyers he seem to think we would have a good case to have our case decided in our favor given the way we were made redundant.
IN a group claim - each person would receive upto 90 days/13 weeks equivalent pay? Correct me if I am wrong, but I also read somewhere, if we do win the protective award, we would only be entitled to 8 weeks at the capped amount of £538 per week?
Thanks for your help/comments.
You first have to apply via Acas. You will be appointed an adviser. Application for ET is free.
Also, please do not engage a solicitor before you have spoken to an Acas adviser. I am surprised that the solicitor has not told you this. It's basic Employment Tribunal application information.
Going to an Employment Tribunal is not just as simple as writing a strongly worded letter to a Judge, or anyone else. There is a lengthy process to go through first. In the past I successfully brought a case to Employment Tribunal but it is a lot of hard work and if there are 69 of you you will need help from the Acas adviser.
In fact, it may be advisable for you to contact Acas as soon as possible to discuss your case and ask how best to proceed.
I'm not sure what you are hoping to gain from a Tribunal but if the company has gone into liquidation, you will just be added to a list of creditors if you even win a Tribunal case. However, if the company IS in liquidation, there will be no-one to answer your case. This is a difficult one. Acas has to be the next step for you and your colleagues.
If both parties do not compromise ACAS have to issue you with a certificate that needs to be sent with your claim if you want to take your claim to an Employment Tribunal.
Contact ACAS explain your position and they will guide you through the process hopefully.
Good luck and fair play in trying to protect you and your collegues interest.
I am only doing what I can because the worst thing is we were told a day after we were made redundant and it left a lot of my colleagues whom I've worked with for 4+ years in such a bad position - some had to move back to their home country and some are struggling to make ends meet. They do not know I am planning to do such a thing, but it will be a worth a try given the way we were treated, was not right.
My next question would be - am I able to have some help with the tribunal claim stage, as in writing a compelling argument etc. I do not want to go through a solicitor because they will charge such astronomical amounts and the colleagues will not be able to afford such amounts given solicitors fees.
Thanks in advance.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explaining-your-protective-award/explaining-your-protective-award#:~:text=A Protective Award is compensation,included in the tribunal judgment.
Thank you for the link, it was something I came to read a few weeks ago. What I wanted to ask is, what period is it that the payment department's referring to please? Some of my ex colleagues took JSA and UC, so will this get deducted for their protective award? Any clarification on the matter would be of great help, so they can assess whether it's beneficial for them to claim for PA..
Thank you in advance