Former staff of a Northamptonshire haulage company that entered administration have been successful in convincing a judge they were dismissed from their jobs without any consultation.
More than 50 workers of Linkline Transport brought a case against the firm after they were made redundant a year ago.
The company, which operated 100 HGVs, had struggled amid intense market competition and despite an accelerated M&A process to find a buyer for the business, there were no viable offers to purchase it.
Employment law solicitor Nuala Toner said employees working out of the Kettering and Wellingborough operating centres contacted her because they believed the haulier had breached their employment rights.
Their case before an employment tribunal and regional employment judge George Foxwell has now found in their favour.
In its decision the tribunal said: “The claimants were dismissed during this period without any consultation having taken place.
The respondent has failed to comply with a requirement of section 188 of the Trade Union & Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
“The claim for a protective award succeeds.”
Toner, of solicitors Nualaw, said the protective award was worth up to 13 weeks’ gross pay.
However, due to the administration, it is likely the only compensation available will be that provided by the redundancy payments service – which is up to £5,752 per employee.
“We were very pleased with the outcome as the tribunal recognised that Linkline had failed in the obligation to warn the employees of the impending redundancies,” she said.
“No efforts were made to avoid the dismissals or mitigate the impact of the dismissals.”
Records showed that an application in the name of Linkline Logistics, which shared the same director, James Bowes, and was made soon after Linkline Transport entered administration, was later withdrawn.
