In USDAW v Ethel Austin Ltd, while the collective consultation obligations under UK law apply where an employer is proposing to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees “at one establishment”, the EAT ruled that the words “at one establishment” are to be disregarded to comply with EU law, meaning that all proposed redundancies across a multi-site unit have to be added together. The Court of Appeal referred the case to the ECJ and Advocate General Wahl gave an opinion on 5 February 2015 that an ‘establishment’ means the local employment unit to which the workers made redundant are assigned, so EU law does not require that the number of proposed dismissals in each of the employer's establishments be added together to determine if the consultation trigger has been met. The ECJ is scheduled to deliver its final judgment on 30 April 2015. If the ECJ disagrees with the Advocate General, this could bring about a significant change to UK law.

Content Note

The aim is to provide summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. In particular, where employment tribunal and appellate court cases are reported, the information does not set out full details of all the facts, the legal arguments presented by the parties and the judgments made in every aspect of the case. Click on the links provided to access full details. If no link is provided contact us for further information. Employment law is subject to constant change either by statute or by interpretation by the courts. While every care has been taken in compiling this information, SM&B cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Specialist legal advice must be taken on any legal issues that may arise before embarking upon any formal course of action.