Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992; Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004
Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992; Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004
Article
Description
Section 188 (2) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, which is derived from Directive 98/58/EC concerning collective redundancies, in relation to possible collective redundancies requires that consultation should include ways of avoiding the dismissals, reducing the numbers of employees to be dismissed, and mitigating the consequences of the dismissals.
Possible ways of avoiding or minimising redundancies and mitigating the consequences of dismissals can include natural wastage, recruitment freezes, stopping or reducing overtime, offering early retirement to volunteers (subject to age discrimination issues), retraining or redeployment and offering existing employees sabbaticals and secondments.
Consultation must be undertaken by the employer with representatives with a view to reaching an agreement. However, there is no obligation to come to come to an agreement as a result of consultations.
Comments
As outlined above, there is no obligation to come to any agreement as the result of the consultation process. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the way this process works in practice is uneven. For example, reports of redundancy proceedings will often state that employee representatives (i.e. trade unions) have tabled proposals aimed at reducing the numbers affected by redundancy. The degree to which these suggestions are acted upon, depends on the employer's response.
Cost covered by
Not applicableInvolved actors other than national government
- Trade union
- Works council
Thresholds
Sources
- Ius Laboris (2009), Collective Redundancies Guide, Ius Laboris, Brussels
- Alpha Consulting (2003), Anticipating and Managing Change - A dynamic approach to the social aspects of corporate restructuring, European Commission, Brussels
- EMCC - Legal framework for restructuring
- The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004
- Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992
Eurofound welcomes feedback and updates on this regulation
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