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Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions >> Simpson & Ors v Lyle & Ors (Sex Discrimination) [2004] NIIT 2119_02 (5 August 2004)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/nie/cases/NIIT/2004/43.html
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- Although there was no appearance by or on behalf of the applicants a letter and submission dated 15 July 2004 had been sent in by their representative. That letter indicated that the applicants claims for redundancy payments, notice pay and outstanding wages had all been met and that the only outstanding issues were those of unfair dismissal and holiday pay.
- The tribunal was satisfied, on the basis of the papers, that the applicants were dismissed by reason of redundancy, as, indeed, the applicants themselves indicated both in their forms of application and by their acceptance of their redundancy payments from the third respondent.
- As regards the applicants' claim for holiday pay there was insufficient evidence to enable the tribunal to determine what the arrangements about holiday pay were, how many days each applicant was entitled to, or how many days each applicant had actually taken. Consequently no determination of the amount, if any, to which an applicant might be entitled could be made and the applications fail.
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
1. Mr Harold Simpson 2119/02 1. Samuel Lyle Eamon O'Neill 2. Sandel Building Co Ltd
(in liquidation)
3. Department of Employment
& Learning
2. Mr David Dallas 2120/02 1. Sandel Building Co Ltd Eamon O'Neill
(in liquidation)
2. Department of Employment
& Learning
3. Mr Derek Espie 115/03 1. Sandel Building Co Ltd Eamon O'Neill
(in liquidation)
2. Department of Employment
& Learning
4. Mr Jeremy Robinson 295/03 1. Sandel Building Co Ltd Eamon O'Neill
(in liquidation)
2. Department of Employment
& Learning
5. Mr Kieran O'Neill 236/03 1. Samuel Lyle Eamon O'Neill
2. Department of Employment
& Learning
6. Mr Peter John Murray 237/03 1. Samuel Lyle Eamon O'Neill
2. Department of Employment
& Learning
7. Mr Thomas James Laird 260/03 1. Samuel Lyle Eamon O'Neill
Simpson 2. Department of Employment
& Learning
APPLICANT CRN RESPONDENT REPRESENTATIVE
8. Mr Thomas William 310/02 1. Sandel Building Co Ltd Gerry Hagan
Hutchinson (in liquidation)
2. Department of Employment
& Learning
9. Harold Alexander 433/03 1. Samuel Lyle Gerry Hagan
Benson 2. Department of Employment
& Learning