Irmtraud Junk’s employer became insolvent and all employees were given notice that their employment would end in three months, which coincided with the end of the statutory collective consultation period. The ECJ held that this was wrong and that consultation must be completed before an employer can make a decision to terminate the contracts of employment.

Notifying an employee at the start of, or during, the consultation period that the contract of employment has been terminated, albeit with notice, means that the decision to end the employment has already been taken. By then, it is too late to consult. This goes against the whole purpose of consultation, which is to avoid or reduce redundancies.

Junk v Kuhnel C-188/03 ([2005] IRLR 310