THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS

CASE REF:    2862/11

CLAIMANT:	Kirsty Walker

RESPONDENT:	Time Worldwide Express Limited

DECISION

The decision of the tribunal is as follows:-

1.	That the respondent is hereby ordered to pay to the claimant the sum of £682.50 in respect of a statutory redundancy payment.

2.	The claims in respect of notice monies and holiday pay are hereby dismissed.

Constitution of Tribunal:

Chairman  (Sitting alone):	Ms J Turkington

Appearances:

The claimant appeared and represented herself.
 
The respondent had not lodged a response form and did not appear at the hearing.

THE CLAIMS

The claimant brought claims in respect of the respondent’s failure to pay a statutory redundancy payment to the claimant upon termination of her employment.  The claim form also referred to claims in respect of sums owed in respect of notice monies and holiday pay.

THE ISSUES

The issues to be determined by the tribunal were:- 

1.	The correct respondent to the claim.  At the hearing, the claimant accepted that Time Worldwide Express Limited had been her employer and was therefore the correct respondent to the claim.

2.	Whether the claimant’s employment was terminated by reason of redundancy and whether the claimant was therefore entitled to a statutory redundancy payment and, if so, the amount of such statutory redundancy payment.

3.	At the outset of the hearing, the claimant confirmed that she had now received notice monies and outstanding holiday pay.  The claims in respect of these matters could therefore be dismissed.

DISPOSAL OF THE CLAIM IN THE ABSENCE OF THE RESPONDENT

4.	The respondent did not appear at the hearing.  The respondent had not presented a response form and therefore, pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tribunal Rules of Procedure, was not entitled to take any part in the proceedings at the hearing.  Accordingly, the tribunal decided that it was appropriate to proceed to hear the claim in the absence of the respondent.

SOURCES OF EVIDENCE

5.	The tribunal heard oral evidence from the claimant and considered a number of documents submitted by the claimant.

FACTS OF THE CASE

Having considered the claim form submitted by the claimant, and having heard the claimant’s evidence and considered the documents submitted by the claimant, the tribunal found the following relevant facts:-

6.	The claimant whose date of birth is 11 October 1983 started her employment as a customer service assistant with the respondent on 28 October 2002.

7.	The claimant worked 16 hours per week on average and earned £7.00 per hour, £105.00 per week gross.

8.	On 27 May 2011, the claimant went to work as usual.  At the end of the working day, the claimant was advised by the respondent that this was her last day as the company had ceased trading.  The claimant received a letter from the respondent dated 27 May 2011 which stated that “the company has ceased trading with immediate effect and that therefore your position has become redundant immediately.”

9.	The claimant did not receive any statutory redundancy payment from the respondent.

10.	The claimant wrote to the respondent in June 2011 asking for her redundancy payment.  The claimant received a reply from the respondent company dated 23 June 2011 confirming that the claimant had been employed by the respondent company from 28 October 2000 to 27 May 2011.  The letter further confirmed that the claimant was entitled to a statutory redundancy payment which the respondent calculated as being £682.50.

11.	At the date of hearing, the claimant understood that the respondent company had ceased trading.

STATEMENT OF LAW

12.	Under Article 170 of the Order, an employer shall pay a redundancy payment if an employee is dismissed by reason of redundancy.  By Article 174, an employee who is dismissed shall be taken to be dismissed by reason of redundancy if the dismissal is wholly or mainly attributable to the fact that the employer has ceased to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed.

CONCLUSIONS

13.	The tribunal had no hesitation in concluding that the claimant’s employment was terminated by reason of redundancy in view of the clear indication from the respondent that the business in which the claimant was employed had ceased to trade with immediate effect.  The claimant is therefore entitled to a statutory redundancy payment as follows:-  

		0.5 week’s gross pay for each full year of continuous employment during which the claimant was aged under 22:-

		0.5 multiplied by 3 multiplied by £105.00  =  £157.50

		1 week’s gross pay for each full year of continuous employment during which the claimant was aged between 22 and 41:-

		1 multiplied by £105 per week multiplied by 5  =  £525.00

14.	The total sum due to the claimant by the respondent in respect of a statutory redundancy payment is £682.50.

15.	This is a relevant decision for the purposes of the Industrial Tribunals (Interest) Order (Northern Ireland) 1990.

Chairman:

Date and place of hearing:       7 March 2012, Belfast.

Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties: