Employment Appeal Tribunal
Where a trade union obtained a protective award under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 s.188(1B)(a) against an employer who had failed to consult before making collective redundancies, other employees also made redundant but in respect of whom the union was not recognised were not entitled to the benefit of that protective award.
The appellant trade union (T) appealed against a decision of an employment tribunal that it could only bring a claim for a protective award under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 s.188(1B)(a) in respect of employees for whom it was recognised. T had been the recognised union for employees in the shop floor engineering section of the respondent company (B). B had gone into administration and as a result many employees had been dismissed as redundant. B had not consulted with T about the redundancies as required under s.188(1B)(a) of the Act. T therefore succeeded in its claim to the employment tribunal under s.189(c) of the Act for a protective award of 90 days pay for those shop floor employees. However, the tribunal refused T's application for an order extending the protective award to other employees made redundant at the same time but who worked in a different section in respect of which T was not recognised. T submitted that a union could bring claims for protective awards not only for those employees in respect of whom the union was recognised, but also for other employees dismissed as redundant on the same day because once the tribunal had made findings of fact leading to the making of a protective award, it could subsequently be accessed by all the employees who had been made redundant.
[2007] IRLR 207
COLLECTIVE REDUNDANCIES, EMPLOYEE CONSULTATION, PROTECTIVE AWARDS, TRADE UNIONS, REDUNDANCY.
