Jim Duffy has successfully represented three nursery workers dismissed last year when the local government contract they were working under was awarded to a new contractor.
Jim, instructed by Thompsons, persuaded the Employment Tribunal that the dismissals were automatically unfair under Regulation 7(1) of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. Although the employees were engaged by the transferor (Barnardo’s) under contracts that were expressed to be for a fixed term due to expire on the day before the transfer, Employment Judge Davies accepted various bases on which the contracts could be said to have been permanent.
That meant that there had been an “organised grouping of employees” providing the transferred service “immediately before” the service provision change. As a result, the claimants became employees of the new contractor, Clyth Meithrin Ynysybwl, which then unfairly dismissed them and offered them new, less favourable terms.
The Claimants, who were backed by UNISON, received compensation for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and loss of their statutory rights. One claimant was awarded the enhanced redundancy payment to which she had been entitled under her Barnardo’s contract.
