Usdaw have confirmed the ECJ will hear the Woolworths and Ethel Austin case on Thursday 20 November 2014. In January 2012 Usdaw won compensation for 25,000 former employees of both companies, but around 1,200 former employees of Ethel Austin and 3,200 former employees of Woolworths were denied compensation because they worked in stores with fewer than 20 staff. The decision was based on the UK interpretation of EU law. Against this background, the EAT ruled that the words “at one establishment” in TULRCA 1992 are to be disregarded for the purposes of triggering any collective redundancy consultation involving 20 or more employees, so work location is irrelevant. This ruling, however, not only meant that those excluded staff at would have been entitled to the compensation received by employees from bigger stores, but that the law would be changed permanently in the same circumstances for all future workers at small establishments. However, the Government appealed the decision and the Court of Appeal decided to refer the matter straight to the ECJ.

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