Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions

 


Brannigan & Ors v Trivirex International Ltd [2008] NIIT 630_06IT (22 January 2008)

THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS

CASE REFS: 630/06; 631/06; 632/06;

633/06; 634/06; 636/06;

637/06; 638/06; 639/06

603/06; 598/06

CLAIMANTS: Peter Brannigan

Colm McConway

Alison McCullough

Janice Patterson

William Sandeman

Paul Tomaszko

Fionntan Tohill

Valerie Simpson

Philip Brown

Austin McDonald

Michael Dempsey

RESPONDENTS: 1. Trivirix International Limited in Administration

2. Redundancy Payments Branch

DECISION

The unanimous decision of the tribunal is that the claimants' claims for unfair dismissal and for a protective award are dismissed with the exception of the claims by Mr McDonald whose claims were withdrawn at hearing by his representative.

Constitution of Tribunal:

Chairman: Mr Kinney

Members: Ms Townsley

Mr Edmont

Appearances:

Mr McDonald and Mr Dempsey were represented by Ms Heron, Solicitor, of J G O'Hare & Company, Solicitors.

None of the other claimants were present, nor were they represented.

The first-name respondent did not appear, nor was it represented.

The second-named respondent was represented by Ms K Dobbin, of the Redundancy Payments Branch

1. The issues for the tribunal to determine were as follows:-

(1) Were Mr McDonald and Mr Dempsey entitled to a protective award?

(2) Were the other claimants unfairly dismissed?

2. Ms Herron addressed the tribunal in relation to Mr McDonald and Mr Dempsey. She confirmed that she had had an opportunity to discuss the matters with Ms Dobbin and to consider the legislation and accepted that her clients had no entitlement to the protective award. She had received instructions from Mr McDonald to withdraw his claim and accordingly she withdrew his claim. She had not had an opportunity to obtain those instructions from Mr Dempsey.
3. In the circumstances and in light of Ms Heron's submission, the tribunal unanimously dismissed the claim of Mr Dempsey.
4. None of the other claimants were represented. The tribunal confirmed that all of the claimants had been written to and that no correspondence had been received by the tribunal office to explain their non-attendance. Ms Heron advised the tribunal that she was instructed by the CWU, who had previously supported the claimants' claim for unfair dismissal; but had subsequently withdrawn that support, and she had come off record in relation to those claims. She, however, confirmed she had no contact from any of the individuals nor any explanation as to why they were not in attendance today.
5. The tribunal considered the information before it and the fact that the claimants had not attended nor given any explanation for their non-attendance. There was not sufficient information before the tribunal to satisfy it that the claimants' claims were well-founded. In the circumstances, therefore, these claims were also dismissed.

Chairman:

Date and place of hearing: 16 November 2007, Belfast

Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties: