Contract changes

Workers will have greater protection from employer threats to change their contracts as a result of a ruling by the Employment Appeal Tribunal, in a case brought by the general union GMB. The union successfully argued that the obligation to consult the union, or employee reps where there is no recognised union, applies equally to changes to contracts as it does to redundancies, provided that 20 or more employees are affected. The union was able to show that the definition of a "redundancy" for consultation purposes includes any dismissal, which is not related to the individual concerned. A unilateral change to a contract in law involves the termination of one contract and the issue of a new contract. It is this termination which the EAT has said amounts to a dismissal and therefore must be consulted upon.