Duty to consult

Case 2: The facts

Mr Howard was given one month's notice of redundancy, following which his employer went into liquidation and was transferred to a new company.

Howard succeeded in his claims for unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction of wages, and the issue for the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) to decide was whether there had been a failure to consult under the TUPE regulations.

The ruling

The EAT held that, if there are no recognised trade unions or other elected employee reps, the employer must arrange for elections for TUPE purposes and invite employees to elect reps. If no rep is elected within a reasonable time, the employer must give the relevant information to the affected employees. There had been a failure to consult.

Howard v Millrise Ltd & S G Printers t/a Colourflow UKEAT/0658/04