Protective Awards: What are they? And frequently asked questions

If an employer proposes to make 20 or more employees redundant at one workplace it must inform and consult workplace representatives. Consultation must commence at least 30 days before the first redundancies, where between 20 and 99 redundancies are made, or 45 days before, when 100 or more redundancies are made. This is known as a collective consultation. 

If the employer fails to comply with those duties, a Protective Award can be made, which is the name for the compensation payable to each redundant employee. 

Protective Award compensation isn’t the same as notice pay or redundancy pay – it’s a claim for additional compensation for the lack of information and consultation. 

How can Morrish Solicitors help me?

Our experienced employment solicitors are national experts in Protective Award claims. In the past, we have represented: 

  • Over 1,500 former Thomas Cook employees. We achieved the maximum Protective Award of 90 days’ pay for many of their Head Office workers in London, Manchester and Peterborough (BBC NewsTSSA).  
  • 260 former CityLink employees, who were each awarded 90 days’ pay (BBC News). 
  • We’ve also had success in other large Protective Award claims such as Bardsley ConstructionStyles and Wood, Phones4u (Yorkshirelegalnews), Sash Uk Ltd, Turners Fine Foods, Howard Hunt (City) Ltd, 3AAA, Paperlinx, Austin Reed, Maplin, Poundworld and others. 

It is always beneficial to have a specialist employment solicitor on your side when making a Protective Award claim. These types of claims are complex and not widely understood, making the chances of a positive outcome much higher when you have an experienced solicitor on your side. 

There are several procedural and technical pitfalls that could lead to your claim being rejected. If the claim is defended (for example because of ‘special circumstances’) or you cannot secure permission to proceed, you could lose altogether. 

The process of securing compensation can also be time consuming, often taking up to 18 months or more. We can handle the whole tribunal and/or court process for you from start to finish, making sure you have the best chance of winning your case. 

If you would like to discuss a protective award claim, please contact us on 033 3344 9603 or email employment@morrishsolicitors.com. 

Request a Callback

Callbacks occur weekdays between 9am -5pm

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Contact Our Employment Team

033 3344 9603