Protective Award Claims
Free 20 minutes employment consultation
What is a Protective Award?
A Protective Award is an awarded compensation of up to 90 days’ gross pay. An Employment Tribunal will award you a Protective Award if your employer fails to collectively inform and consult you during dismissal on the grounds of redundancy. A protective award applies to dismissals of 20 or more employees, who have been dismissed within a 90-day period of each other. You’re only entitled to get this payment if your job role was included in the tribunal judgement.
If this has happened to you and your colleagues, your trade union or employee representative can put forward a claim to the employment tribunal on behalf of those made redundant. If there is no selected trade union or employee representative, you can pursue the claim yourself or with your colleagues.
How to Make a Protective Award?
What Qualifies As A Protective Award?
To qualify for a Protective Award, your employer needs to have made at least 20 employees redundant. This needs to be at the same location where the employer did not follow the correct consultation process.
There is no minimum length of service required to bring forward a claim. However, the claims must commence within 3 months from either the date of dismissal (for collective redundancies) or, the date of the TUPE transfer.
Contact ACAS for the Early Conciliation Process
If you want to make a claim you will need to go through the Employment Tribunal’s Early Conciliation with ACAS. For a Protective Award Claim, this will be a procedural exercise as Protective Awards cannot be paid without a judgement from a Tribunal. As a result, ACAS will issue a certificate that can be attached to the Employment Tribunal Claim.
File your Claim at the Employment Tribunal
Once you have your Early Conciliation certificate from ACAS you can submit your claim to the Employment Tribunal. If you are making a group claim, you may need evidence in the Tribunal. However, if you are not comfortable giving evidence, you do not need to worry.
Once all the evidence has been assessed by the Judge, they will decide whether your employer has breached the redundancy consultation rules.
Making Your Protective Award Claim
If the judgement is in your favour, you can apply for your Protective Award from your former employer or the Redundancy Payment Service.
How Much Compensation Could You Be Entitled To?
When you make a Protective Award Claim a judge can award up to 90 days’ pay. This amount is based on your gross weekly wage. However, if you claim through the Redundancy Payments Service, this amount is capped at £544 a week. The maximum amount that can be claimed from the Redundancy Payments Service currently stands at £4,568.
How long do you have to make a Protective Award claim?
You have a time limit of 3 months to bring forward your Protective Award Claim.
The time starts from the date that the last person was dismissed from employment within the 90-day period. Before commencing a claim in the Employment Tribunal, you will need to get a conciliation with ACAS.
What to do If your employer is insolvent?
If your former employer is insolvent, the Insolvency Service will pay the Protective Award. However, the amount of pay is capped at 8 weeks' pay.
How can I find out if I am included in the Protective Award?
You can get a Protective Award payment if you, or your job role, was included in the tribunal judgment.
The person or organisation that took the case to the employment tribunal will be able to give you a copy of the judgment and tell you if you are entitled to the Award. In the case of AWH helping with the protective award, our solicitors will be in contact with you to inform you that you're entitled.
If you’re included in the award, you should already have received information about the tribunal.
How much compensation will you get for a Protective Award?
You can receive payment for up to a maximum of 8 weeks. If the Protective Award was for a longer period your award will be capped at 8 weeks. If you were made redundant on or after 6 April 2022, your weekly pay is capped at £571. If you were made redundant before 6 April 2022, these amounts will be lower.
When will you receive your Protective Award payment?
You will usually receive your Protective Award Payment within 12 weeks of receiving information about who is entitled to the award.
How Our Employment Solicitors Can Help?
The process of claiming a Protective Award Claim can be difficult. Additionally, the process has a few vital steps needed before your claim can be put to the Employment Tribunal. Due to the complexities of the process and the short time limit, there is to make a claim, our employment solicitors can help you get the necessary paperwork together in time. As a result, you can submit a strong case to the Employment Tribunal within the time limit.
Get in contact with our employment solicitors about taking group action, and our solicitors will help you get together all the information needed for your case.
Get in touch
