Vol 21 (2024) - Issue 5

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R (on the application of Palmer) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court [2023] UKSC 38

Synopsis
In a unanimous decision given on 1 November 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that an administrator appointed under the Insolvency Act 1986 ('IA 1986') is not an 'officer' of the company for the purposes of s.
194(3) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ('TULRCA').
This judgment reverses the earlier decisions of the Northern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court (upheld by the Divisional Court), and serves to clarify that, where proposing to make collective redundancies of 20 or more employees, an administrator is not an 'officer' of the company in these circumstances and therefore may not be held criminally liable for any failure by the company to provide the statutory notice (using the form HR1) to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade (the 'Secretary of State') (per the statutory offence under s. 193(4) TULCRA).