LRD guides and handbook July 2021

Law at work 2021 - the trade union guide to employment law

Chapter 11

Consultation over changes to terms and conditions

[ch 11: page 426]

The duty to consult collectively over redundancies is triggered by any “dismissal for a reason not related to the individual concerned” (section 195, TULRCA). This is much wider than the definition used to claim unfair redundancy dismissal and a redundancy payment (section 139, ERA 96).

The dismissal of employees and their re-engagement on new terms and conditions (so called fire and rehire) triggers collective redundancy consultation obligations even if there is no proposed reduction in the number of employees (GMB v Man Truck and Bus UK [2000] IRLR 636).

A resignation in response to a significant unilateral cut to contract terms and conditions (that is, a constructive dismissal) will count towards the 20-employee threshold, as long as the reason for the contract change is unrelated to the individual worker (Pujante Rivera v Gestora Clubs Dir [2016] IRLR 51).