Consultative committee had insufficient powers

In 2012 an employer (the Hesley Group Limited) used an existing “joint consultative committee” made up of elected, appointed and “co-opted” workers to carry out collective consultation on behalf of employees at risk of redundancy. The committee’s constitution prevented it carrying out negotiation. The EAT ruled that the committee could not be an “appropriate representative body” for the purposes of collective consultation. The obligation to consult collectively had been breached, triggering liability for a protective award.

Kelly v The Hesley Group Limited [2013] UKEAT/0339/12/ZT

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140701192834/http://www.cac.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2684