Employment Appeal Tribunal
Five St Mary's Airport baggage handlers and fire fighters who had been employed originally by the Council but whose employment contracts were taken over by a company, Brintel helicopters Ltd, while it ran the services in which they were employed for the council, were made redundant on that company going into administration. Three of the employees were re-engaged by the Council on less favourable terms and two were not. On their complaints to an industrial tribunal, the tribunal ruled that regulation 8 Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 applied and that the two who had not been re-engaged had been unfairly dismissed whilst the other three were entitled to be re-engaged on terms not less favourable than those on which they had previously been employed. On appeal by the Council.
HELD: Contrary to the Council's contention there had been a transfer of an undertaking within the Regulations because the business of baggage handling and fire fighting was a separate business carried on by Brintel for the Council which had been taken over by the Council on Brintel ceasing to be responsible for those services. There was no reason why "contracting out" should be treated any differently from "contracting in" – see Dines v Initial Healthcare Services Ltd (1995) ICR 11 [FN 1]. Appeal dismissed.
[1995] ICR 249
