Lancashire Textiles worker awarded almost £10k after sudden closure

Tuesday 29 October 2024

A woman who worked at a longstanding homeware and interiors business for more than a decade has been awarded nearly £10,000 after being dismissed from her job without notice following the shop's sudden closure this summer.

Andreia Gomes had worked as Head of Sales at Lancashire Textiles since February 2012.

On 4 July 2024, she was dismissed without notice due to the shop closing.

The Employment and Discrimination Tribunal heard earlier this month that no process was followed and Ms Gomes considered the dismissal to be unfair.

The former Head of Sales was unemployed for two weeks after the shop's closure before obtaining alternative employment.

Pictured: The store had been a fixture of Beresford Street for many years before shutting.

She was not paid her notice pay or any redundancy payment by Lancashire Textiles.

No representative from Lancashire Textiles Limited attended the hearing.

Having heard the evidence, the Tribunal's Chair, Advocate Elena Moran, said in her judgment that she was "satisfied that [Ms Gomes] was unfairly dismissed and entitled to a redundancy payment. She was also wrongfully dismissed and is entitled to her notice pay save to the extent that she mitigated her loss".

She called the payslip failing a "moderately serious breach" of the law, noting that Ms Gomes was also entitled to compensation for this.

Ms Gomes was subsequently awarded £1,200 for wrongful dismissal, £1,200 as compensation for no payslips, and £7,200 in compensation for unfair dismissal.