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CASE REF: 2119/02 & Others
(See attached list)
APPLICANTS: Simpson & Others
(See attached list)
RESPONDENTS: 1. Samuel Lyle
2. Sandel Building Co Ltd (in liquidation)
3. Department of Employment & Learning
The unanimous decision of the tribunal is that the applications be dismissed.
Appearances:
The applicants did not attend and were not represented.
The first and second respondents did not appear and were not represented.
The third respondent was represented by Ms P Baird and Ms S Lennox of Redundancy Payments Service.
Summary Reasons
Redundancy is one of the reasons mentioned in Article 130(2) in relation to the fairness or unfairness of the dismissal. The fact that all employees were dismissed at the same time indicates to the tribunal that it was reasonable to treat it as a sufficient reason for dismissal in each case. No further question of unfair dismissal arises.
The tribunal noted, in passing, that the legislation refers to the Department making payments in respect of holiday pay "to which the employee had become entitled during the twelve months ending with the appropriate date". The "appropriate date" is the date of liquidation of the company, which in this case was apparently 16 May 2003. The qualifying period therefore commenced on 17 May 2002. Holiday pay rights are related to periods worked. It would seem that, in this case, the applicants' rights to holiday pay, if any, can only have accrued between 17 May 2002 (the commencement of the relevant period) and 26 August 2002 when the dismissals took place, a period of some three and a half months. It may be that the holiday rights accrued during that period may have been satisfied by the July holidays which would appear, according to the applicants' representative's letter of 13 July 2004, to have been taken by the applicants.
Chairman:
Date and place of hearing: 5 August 2004, Belfast.
Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties:
Case to be known as:
RE: Simpson & Others –v- 1. Samuel Lyle
2. Sandel Building Co Ltd (in liquidation)
3. Department of Employment & Learning
CASE REF NOS: 2119/02 & Others
APPLICANT CRN RESPONDENT REPRESENTATIVE
(in liquidation)
& Learning
(in liquidation)
& Learning
(in liquidation)
& Learning
(in liquidation)
& Learning
& Learning
& Learning
Simpson 2. Department of Employment
& Learning
APPLICANT CRN RESPONDENT REPRESENTATIVE
Hutchinson (in liquidation)
2. Department of Employment
& Learning
Benson 2. Department of Employment
& Learning