Case Study: Successful protective award claim for former employees of Addspace Furniture Ltd
Almost £115,000 compensation recovered for 44 affected workers.
In January 2023, the Rotherham-based furniture manufacturer, Addspace Furniture Limited entered administration. Not long after that, almost 60 members of staff were made redundant without any prior warning.
The company had been reporting significant losses for the 12-month period ending September 2021 and 2022. The firm claimed this was a result of reduced customer orders and lower margins resulting from cheaper overseas competitors entering into the UK market. Despite numerous parties showing interest in buying the company, nothing materialised.
Given the financial state of the business, the former members of staff argued that it must have been clear by September 2022 at the very latest that redundancies were inevitable. However, no attempts were made to appoint, inform or consult with appropriate representatives prior to making the employees redundant as required by law.
As a result, in October 2023, Leeds Employment Tribunal ruled in favour of the former employees, awarding them a 90-day protective award which is the maximum award permitted under this type of claim.
Morrish Solicitors has to date been able to successfully recover just under £115,000 in compensation for all 44 of the former employees who had instructed the firm.
The group was represented by Omar Ghaffoor, a protective award specialist solicitor in the employment team. He commented:
“I can only imagine the stress and worry that the former employees and their families endured after being made redundant suddenly, without any prior warning. The consultation process is designed to warn those at risk of redundancies and try, where possible, to avoid redundancies and mitigate the consequences. Despite various warning signs, this was ignored by the company.
“We’re thrilled to have been able to secure some additional compensation for those former employees affected by the redundancies.”
