Refusing changes
[ch 2: page 26]Employees should be warned that declining to accept the changes could ultimately lead to the employer seeking to terminate their contracts. Although the dismissal may be expressed to be on the grounds of redundancy or some other substantial reason, such a termination could well amount to a wrongful dismissal and an unfair dismissal. Relevant factors in determining this will include the need for the change, whether a consultation took place, the notice given and how oppressive the change is.
In some cases, employers will seek to immediately re-employ the workers on new contracts. This is a particularly desperate course for an employer to take, and again makes them vulnerable to claims of wrongful dismissal (notice pay may be due) and unfair dismissal (basic award payable — equivalent to statutory redundancy package, Hogg v Dover College [1990] ICR 39). Also, the employees may well be able to recover the difference between their old and new lower earnings (Rigby v Ferodo Ltd [1987] IRLR 516) provided that they register their objection to the change (Blows v Dunlop Tyre Co [2001] EWCA Civ 1032).