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Redundancy Law Update

5146307757_b0a563f6cb_mRedundancy – Meaning of “establishment” confirmed by the European Court of Justice.

The case USDAW and another –v- Realisation One Limited and Others more affectionally known as “The Woolworths and Ethel Austin cases” has been determined by the European Court of Justice. The ECJ has ruled on the meaning of the word “establishment”, which min

It would appear, much to the joy of employers across the country that the ECJ does not believe all “establishments” are to be aggregated when considering if the 20 employee threshold has been triggered

This means that when considering whether to make or how to conduct a redundancy process, employers will only need to consider collective consultation when contemplating 20 or more redundancies in a period of 90 days if those 20 or more redundancies are to take place at one specific store, site depot, or office (“Entity”).

The matter is to be referred back to the Court of Appeal however it is likely that the Court of Appeal’s decision would be a formality in that it will reverse the decision currently in place from the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Consultation on any redundancy situation can be a tricky task to address and whilst this Judgment and hopefully the Court of Appeal will provide clarity on collective consultations, for the time being it will mean that where a Company has a number of individual Entities, it is the Entity or office at which the employees made redundant are assigned to carry out their duties that is the main factor to consider for the purposes of calculating the number of employees to be affected by the redundancy.

If you are considering any redundancy project or restructure or have been put at risk of redundancy, please contact the employment law specialists at Josiah Hincks who will be more than happy to guide you through the process and advise you on the best course of action.