SC Lyons Haulage Ltd (In Creditors Voluntary Liquidation) and Secretary of State for Business and Trade

Case Summary

Mr Marshall, an HGV driver employed since February 2014, was constructively dismissed when his employer failed to make tax, national insurance and pension contributions despite deductions from wages, and when his workplace was changed requiring additional travel costs he could not afford. The tribunal upheld his claims for unfair dismissal (basic award £8,680.50) and wrongful dismissal/notice pay (£5,850) but dismissed his redundancy pay claim.

The claimant successfully established constructive unfair dismissal by proving express breaches and breaches of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence. The tribunal found he was entitled to notice pay of nine weeks (£5,850). No compensatory award was made as the respondent would have ceased trading two weeks after the dismissal in any event, so the claimant would already receive payment for those two weeks through notice pay. The redundancy claim was dismissed as bound to fail.

Use these claim-type pages to compare this decision with other published tribunal cases, outcome patterns, and visible award data.

• •Constructive unfair dismissal based on breach of express terms and implied term of mutual trust and confidence
• •Whether tribunal had jurisdiction to hear claims following company insolvency and entry into creditors' voluntary liquidation
• •Notice pay entitlement
• •Redundancy pay claim

1 of 4 EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS Claimant: Mr L Marshall Respondent: SC Lyons Haulage Ltd (In Creditors Voluntary Liquidation) (R1) Secretary of State for Business and Trade (R2) Heard at: Bristol On: 23 rd April 2026 Before: Employment Judge P Cadney Representation: Claimant: In Person (assisted by his wife) Respondent: No Attendance R1 or R2 PRELIMINARY HEARING JUDGMENT The judgment of the tribunal is that:- 1. First Respondent -Judgment is entered against the first respondent :- i) Unfair Dismissal – The claimnt’s claim of unfair dismissal is well founded and upheld ii) Basic Award – The respondent is ordered to pay the claimant £8,680.50 iii) Wrongful Dismissal / Notice Pay - The claimnt’s claim of wrongful dismissal is well founded and upheld . The respondent is ordered to pay the claimant £5850.00; iv) Redundancy Pay – The claimant’s application for redundancy pay is dismissed. 2. Second Respondent -The claimant’s claim against the second respondent is adjourned. i) Further Directions are given below 2 of 4 Reasons 1. This case has a long and convoluted history. By an ET1/Claim form presented on 8 th February 2024 the claimant presented claims for : i) Unfair dismissal; ii) Notice Pay iii) Redundancy Pay 2. Background - The claimant asserts that he had been employed as an HGV driver from 7 th February 2014 to 1 st December 2023 and had discovered that, although deducted from his wages, the first respondent had not been making payment of tax or national insurance to HMRC; and had not being paying his pension contributions. In November 2023 he had gone online and discovered that the respondent had apparently issued his P45 on 31 st August 2023, although he was entirely unaware of this and they continued to employ and pay him, and he continued to work for them. Whether this wa…