Sewing machinist wins £20,891 after being sole redundancy despite promised mass layoff

A redundancy that wasn't what it seemed

When a director told a sewing machinist that the business was closing and all staff would be made redundant, she had no reason to doubt him. But after she was dismissed, the other six employees kept their jobs. That discrepancy – combined with a complete failure by the employer to engage with the tribunal process – led to a default judgment and a significant compensation award.

The claimant, who had worked for Sew On and Sew Forth Limited for nearly eight years, was called into a meeting on 8 February 2022 and handed a backdated letter. No note taker was present despite the letter promising one. She was dismissed four days later, the only employee to lose her job.

What the employer could have done differently

The employer did not submit a response to the claim, so liability was decided by default. At the remedy hearing, the company did not attend and was not represented. The tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence, which it found credible. A fair redundancy process would have involved proper consultation, objective selection criteria, and consideration of alternatives. Failing to follow the ACAS Code led to a 20% uplift on the compensatory award.

Why this matters for similar claims

This case shows that tribunals will take a dim view of employers who ignore proceedings and fail to follow basic procedural fairness. For employees, it highlights the importance of challenging a redundancy that appears to single them out, especially when told otherwise. The award of £20,891.76 included notice pay and a redundancy payment already quantified in the default judgment, plus compensation for unfair dismissal with the ACAS uplift.