Incorporated terms

Case 4: The facts

Mrs Badger and her colleagues were made redundant three months after their employment transferred under TUPE. They said they were entitled to enhanced redundancy payments set out in a collective agreement, as these had been incorporated into their employment contracts.

But the company argued that the last collective agreement had expired two years previously, and in any case had never been incorporated into individual contracts.

The ruling

The statement of terms and conditions for employees who were paid weekly said that further terms and conditions were contained in the union agreement, so the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that this meant the terms of that collective agreement were expressly incorporated into their contracts.

It also found that the terms were incorporated into the contracts of monthly-salaried staff through custom and practice, because they had been followed for many years.

A collective agreement’s terms, if incorporated, can continue even if the agreement comes to an end.

Framptons Ltd v Badger and others UKEAT/0138/06