Judgment Details

Michael Duggan was Counsel for the employer in Shanahan Engineering Ltd v Unite the Union (EAT HHJ Richardson) which is authority for the proposition that even if there are special circumstances relating to the 30 day consultation period in s. 188 of TUCR(A)A 1992 the consultation obligations should be considered separately.

Shanahan  was instructed to alter its work practices by the end of the day on 1^st May 2008 pursuant to a clause which was common in the engineering industry whereby the main contractor could order the sub-contractor to stop or not to start any work and alter instruct to re-start or start it. This meant an immediate reduction in the workforce. Shanahan applied agreed redundancy criteria but it was found by the ET that there was no consultation which could have taken place over 2-3 days so that 90 day protective awards were ordered.

The EAT upheld the Tribunal judgment that special circumstances existed in relation to the 30 day time period but that it had been reasonably practicable for Shanahan to carry out consultation in accordance with the requirements of section 188(2) and 188(4) of TUCR(A)A 1992. However, the Tribunal had erred in simply awarding a 90 day protective award as there were mitigating factors and the case was remitted to the Tribunal on this issue. The case is of some important for the construction industry as the above is a common fact situation.

The judgment is available here.