Insights & News

Suspended union activist’s application for injunction refused

27 January 2021

The High Court has refused a trade union activist’s application for an interim injunction to end his suspension and stop a probation hearing from considering whether he should be dismissed for his views on his new employer’s business model and his previous union activities.

European Works Councils under Irish Law

Inbrief

14 January 2021

European Works Councils are the only legally-mandated bodies for transnational information and consultation with employees in the world.

Collective redundancy consultation – do you need to look back before moving forward?

02 December 2020

A recent European Court of Justice ruling suggests that employers should look at a “rolling” 90-day period when ascertaining whether collective redundancy consultation is required. While this has potentially significant implications, the end of the Brexit transition period may limit its fallout.

Interim relief for employee who used union to lodge grievance over coronavirus measures

01 October 2020

In a sign of a potential rise in claims for interim relief, an Employment Tribunal has ordered the reinstatement of an employee claiming unfair dismissal for using a trade union to bring his grievance over coronavirus measures.

Information and consultation

Inbrief

10 July 2020

Employers with at least 50 employees can be required to establish arrangements for informing and consulting their employees on business developments. These arrangements are commonly called ‘works councils’.

Trade union blacklisting – decision on amendment of claims ‘manifestly’ incorrect

02 July 2020

The rail operator GTR has succeeded in an appeal against employees being allowed to amend their Employment Tribunal claims to assert trade union blacklisting. The Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that this was not merely a “re-labelling”, despite the original claims being conceptually and factually related.

Industrial action - summary judgment refused despite union’s ‘improbable’ defence

21 May 2020

The High Court has considered a case which the employer, Royal Mail, alleged was a “classic case of unballoted strike action done at the instigation and with support of local officials”. The court refused an application for summary judgment, despite finding the trade union’s defence to be “improbable”.

Christmas postal strike prevented due to union’s interference with postal ballot

18 December 2019

The Court of Appeal (“CA”) has upheld the High Court’s decision to grant an injunction preventing a Christmas strike by postal workers. The injunction followed interference by the Communication Workers Union (“CWU”) in the postal ballot process by strongly encouraging its members to intercept their ballot papers before they were delivered to their homes.

Dismissal unfair where investigating manager was motivated by dislike of employee's union activities

03 December 2019

An employee was unfairly dismissed because the disciplinary process was manipulated by a manager who was motivated by dislike of the employee’s trade union activities, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has confirmed. This was despite the fact that neither the disciplinary nor appeal manager was influenced by prejudice against union activities.

Strike injunction refused because ballot notification complied with legal requirements

31 October 2019

Refusing an application by British Airways plc (“BA”) for an injunction to restrain strike action by airline pilots, the Court of Appeal (“CA”) ruled that the trade union had provided sufficient detail as to the “categories” of employees to be balloted under the statutory rules.

David Hopper writes for People Management: What the law says on European Works Councils

Press

20 September 2019

David Hopper has written an article for People Management reporting on a new ruling that sheds light on relocating employee representation in the wake of Brexit.

Global Climate Strike – five key questions for employers

09 September 2019

On Friday 20 September 2019, an unprecedented ‘Global Climate Strike’ is set to take place. Millions of employees across the world are being invited to walk out of their workplaces. What are the implications for employers?

EWCs cannot slow down managerial decision-making

02 August 2019

In the UK’s first appeal case on the operation of a European Works Council (“EWC”), the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has ruled that EWCs cannot slow down managerial decision-making by delaying the provision of an opinion after being informed and consulted.

UK CAC upholds the relocation of European Works Council arrangements to Ireland due to Brexit

21 June 2019

The Central Arbitration Committee (“CAC”) has ruled that multinational companies headquartered outside of the European Union are not prohibited from relocating their European Works Council (“EWC”) arrangements from the UK in anticipation of Brexit. Relocation does not undermine employees’ information and consultation rights and is in accordance with the fundamental EU law principle of freedom of establishment.

Court of Appeal decides that unions do not have a veto during collective bargaining

17 June 2019

The Court of Appeal (“CA”) has ruled that offers made directly by an employer to its employees in relation to pay and working hours did not amount to an unlawful attempt to bypass collective bargaining contrary to section 145B of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (“TULRCA”). S.145B is only engaged if the employer’s purpose is to stop employees’ terms of employment from being determined by collective agreement on a permanent basis.

EU Commission confirms its views on EWCs and a “no-deal” Brexit

01 May 2019

The European Commission (“EC”) has recently revised its March 2018 guidance on the legal repercussions of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU for European Work’s Councils (“EWCs”), including the implications of a “no-deal” Brexit.

Outsourcing: TU recognition application against service provider and client thrown out

05 April 2019

The High Court has dismissed a judicial review of two decisions of the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) in relation to outsourced workers based at the University of London. The CAC had rejected applications by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) for recognition for collective bargaining.

EAT rules in first UK appeal case on European Works Councils

20 March 2019

In the UK’s first ever appeal case on European Works Councils (“EWCs”), the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has ruled that a Special Negotiating Body (“SNB”) can continue to exist after the third anniversary of a request to establish a EWC.

Update on European Works Councils - will Brexit frustrate your EWC?

28 February 2019

The final form of Brexit remains uncertain, as does its impact on European Works Councils (“EWCs”) that are governed by UK law.

Brexit and European Works Councils - a status update and what you need to do next

29 January 2019

The final form of Brexit remains uncertain as does its impact on European Works Councils (“EWCs”), the area of employment law that it will most immediately and profoundly affect. This article guides you through the current state of play and suggests how best to prepare for what might happen to your existing UK law-governed EWC arrangements.