Claimant v Ashes Care Group Limited t/a Teasdale Lodge Nursing Home
Outcome
Individual claims
The tribunal found the claimants' complaints of breach of contract for notice pay to be well founded. The second respondent (Secretary of State) was ordered to pay Mrs Metcalfe £1229.00 and Mrs Oakley £1246.82 in notice pay.
The tribunal found the claimants' complaints of unlawful deduction from wages to be well founded, though no award was made for compensation, likely because the losses were covered by other awards or were de minimis.
The tribunal found the employer failed to comply with Section 189 of TULRC regarding collective redundancy consultation. A protective award of 56 days (the statutory maximum being 90 days) was made for all employees dismissed from 13 March 2024, reflecting the seriousness of the breach but potentially some mitigating factors.
The tribunal found the claimants' complaints of breach of the Working Time Regulations for holiday pay were not well founded and dismissed these claims. The reasoning was given orally but not provided in the written judgment.
Facts
Two claimants were employed at Teasdale Lodge Nursing Home operated by Ashes Care Group Limited. They were dismissed on 13 March 2024 along with other employees when the nursing home closed. The employer failed to pay notice pay, made unlawful deductions from wages, failed to consult on collective redundancies under TULRC, but claims for unpaid holiday pay were not established. The first respondent did not attend and appears to be insolvent, with claims pursued against the Secretary of State as second respondent.
Decision
The tribunal found in favour of both claimants on breach of contract (notice pay), unlawful deduction from wages, and failure to consult on collective redundancies. A protective award of 56 days was made. The Secretary of State was ordered to pay notice pay of £1229.00 and £1246.82 respectively, plus protective awards of £5439.84 each. Holiday pay claims were dismissed.
Practical note
When an employer becomes insolvent and fails to consult on collective redundancies, affected employees can recover notice pay and secure protective awards from the Secretary of State, but holiday pay claims require specific evidence of entitlement that survived the employment relationship.
Legal authorities cited
Statutes
Case details
- Case number
- 2502162/2024
- Decision date
- 12 March 2025
- Hearing type
- full merits
- Hearing days
- 1
- Classification
- contested
Respondent
- Sector
- healthcare
- Represented
- No
Claimant representation
- Represented
- Yes
- Rep type
- barrister