15th April 2008
Forty Unite members, who were dismissed when Norwich based Laurence Scott Electromotors went into administration in May last year, were awarded compensation totalling almost £500,000.
An Employment Tribunal hearing held yesterday in Norwich, awarded the maximum 90 day award against Laurence Scott Electromotors (LSE) for failing to consult with the unions over the redundancies. The tribunal with some technical legal amendments accepted the claims brought on behalf of Unite members for unfair dismissal claims.
This decision ensures all dismissed members will receive at least £2,000 with some claims totalling £35,000. The protective award elements will be payable by the governments insolvency service and the claims for the unfair dismissals will go to the administrators.
This claim has no effect on the current owners of LSE, ATB and is solely to deal with matters before ATB purchased the business.
Unite Regional Officer, Mark Robinson, said: “We welcome the decision of the tribunal and we are pleased our members will receive some compensation for the treatment they suffered. Our members, many with 20 or 30 years service were sacked by telephone or not allowed entry when they turned up to work. We now want to work with the administrators to attempt to obtain as much of the compensation as possible from the old LSE.
“We are pleased ATB Laurence Scott has done a great deal to re-employ a number of our members following their dismissals and our working relationship with the new owners of the business remains strong and healthy. The future for Laurence Scott looks bright and we hope we are not forced down this avenue again.”
