Fence fitter in £21k payout

A Kidderminster fencing fitter has been awarded more than £21,000 after being unfairly sacked only two weeks before the firm went into administration.

Ricky Pitt was dismissed by Roc Fencing Ltd of Stourport Road, Kidderminster, following a driving dispute, Birmingham Employment Tribunal was told.

But there is doubt over whether Mr Pitt of Broome Crescent, Kidderminster, will receive all of the cash because of the firm's financial position.

Mr Pitt said he believed he was unfairly dismissed after seven years at the business and accused the management of failing to carry out the correct disciplinary and dismissal procedure.

He said the previous employer went into administration last year and that the new firm, Roc Fencing Ltd had opened on the same site carrying out the same business. He said the new name was similar to the previous employer and that he had been kept on as a fencer.

But he said he was dismissed only two weeks before Roc Fencing Ltd went into administration. The firm did not attend the hearing and was not represented.

Tribunal Chairman Mr Robin Balmain said the tribunal's decision was that Mr Pitt had been automatically unfairly dismissed because of the firm's failure to carry out the correct disciplinary and dismissal procedure.

He awarded Mr Pitt £20,900 for unfair dismissal plus £801 in unpaid wages . Mr Balmain said the total included a 35 per cent increase for the Employment Rights Act breach.

But Mr Balmain said he was concerned over whether Mr Pitt would get all his award in view of the firm's plight.

Mr Pitt's wife, Mrs Louise Pitt who accompanied him at the hearing – they have two children – said she had lost her job as a customer services employee with Woolworths at Kidderminster at the same time.