Business confidentiality could not be justified

More than 300 employees at the two main depots of beer, wine and spirit wholesaler Waverley TBS Limited have been awarded protective awards of 75 days’ pay. This follows a complete failure by the company to consult over redundancies with Unite, the recognised union, when the business collapsed.

As the employer is in the hands of administrators, compensation, which Unite says could exceed £600,000, will be paid by the Redundancy Payments Office. The tribunal judge had harsh words for administrators Deloittes, who rejected attempts by Unite reps to engage with them.

Concluding that the real reason for not consulting the union was concern about commercial confidentiality, the judge said: “I do not regard these fears as mitigating in any way the [employer’s] failure.

“Even if the employer or administrator enters into a confidentiality agreement, it does not trump the statutory duty to consult.

“It should not be assumed that trade unions will not themselves abide by conditions of confidentiality, even keeping information from their own members, during consultation periods.”

Unite Legal Services instructed union solicitors Pattinson & Brewer to represent the union.

Wayne King, Unite district officer with responsibility for union members at the Hemel Hempstead depot, described the result as “a great example of what being a member of a trade union can mean when employers and administrators think they can ignore the law”.