Three trade unions (GMB, Unite and Community Trade Union), and some individuals, made a claim to the Employment Tribunal (ET) for a protective award. A protective award compensates employees for an employer’s failure to inform and consult about a collective redundancy situation in accordance with its legal obligations. The Tribunal ruled that Sahaviriya Steel Industries UK Limited (in liquidation), otherwise known as SSI UK, failed to comply with these obligations.
On 21 March 2016, the ET decided that a protective award of 90 days’ pay would be appropriate compensation for this failure, for employees represented by the above trade unions and some individual employees.
Because SSI UK is insolvent and unable to meet the terms of the award, the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) can arrange for some of the award to be paid out of the National Insurance Fund.