DOZENS of former Farmison staff have won a compensation claim concerning the Ripon butchers going into administration last year.
The online retailer, which also had a shop on Bondgate Green, went into administration last April with the loss of about 70 jobs.
Fortunately, a consortium led by former Asda chief executive Andy Clarke and Chilli Marketing founder Gareth Whittle bought the business from the administrators for an undisclosed sum later that month, with the business re-opening soon afterwards.
A recently published employment tribunal document reveals 32 employees of the former company filed a claim for a protective award.
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Protective awards are given as compensation when an employer did not consult with staff before making people redundant. They are paid by the government’s Insolvency Service.
The document said all 32 claimants were staff at Farmison’s HQ at Bondgate Green and were dismissed on April 6.
It added “there was no recognised trade union and that there was no election of representatives”.
The case was heard in Leeds on November 7. The document added the administrator did not attend but gave permission for the protective award claims to proceed.
In his judgement, employment judge Phil Lancaster said:”The respondent has failed to comply with the provisions of section 188 of the Trade Union & Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 by not electing or consulting with appropriate employee representatives.
“The claimants are each entitled to a protective award for a period of 90 days beginning on 6th April 2023.”
A statement issued by the ‘new’ Farmison said: “This tribunal relates to the process undertaken when the administrator was responsible for the company, before the current investors acquired the business.
“Since taking on the business we’ve worked hard on beginning Farmison’s turn around, and we’re pleased we’ve been able to re-employ a significant number of Farmison colleagues who were made redundant by the administrator as well as other new colleagues from Ripon and surrounding areas."
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