An Employment Tribunal has awarded 233 ex employees of Borders UK (which went into administration and closed down in December 2009) the maximum of 90 days’ pay, having decided that the company and administrators had failed to comply with employment legislation covering consultation rights.
Paul Lee, National Officer of the Retail Book Association, the booksellers’ independent trade union, told the Tribunal that the failure to comply was a deliberate act in order to maximise sales in the pre Christmas period before the business closed. The Tribunal agreed and awarded the maximum sanction.
The compensation generated by this award, however, has to be paid out of state funds, as there is no money available from the closure of Borders, and this state payment will be subjected to caps and limits.
Paul stated that this was a clear signal that the courts will not tolerate breaches of employment rights, and expressed his disappointment that it was the state that had to pick up the tab when administrators wind up a business with a complete disregard of employment law.
He added that he would be writing to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to investigate companies and administrators who sidestep their responsibilities knowing that it is the state that pays the sanction and not the persons responsible for such actions and inactions.
Paul commended the 233 claimants, and particularly those from Leicester who were not members of the RBA, for persevering in their tribunal claims – something that the majority of those made redundant did not bother to do. He added that the unions were there to help in such cases, yet so many people fail to use them out of what appears to be sheer apathy.
Posted On Tue, 7 Jun 2011
Our address is:
8/9 Commercial Road
Swindon
Wilts, SN1 5NF
Our new telephone number is:
01793 864848
Our new fax number is:
01793 864849
all mobile numbers remain the same.
Posted On Fri, 7 May 2010
Workers can reclaim holidays lost to sickness
A recent decision in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has become authority for the proposition that a period of illness whilst on holiday does not count towards the minimum period of paid annual leave under the Working Time Directive (WTD).
The decision involved a specialist driver, who suffered an accident at work around 14 days before the commencement of his allocated period of 4 weeks annual leave. The injury put him out of action for 6 weeks. His sick leave therefore almost entirely overlapped with his planned holiday but his request for an additional period of annual leave was refused. Under the ECJs ruling his period of sick leave should not have counted towards his holiday time.
The ruling emphasises that entitlement to paid annual leave is strictly enforced, so as to enable a worker to rest and enjoy a period of relaxation and leisure. By contrast the purpose of entitlement to sick leave is to ensure that he can recover from being ill.
Consequently, if a worker decides not to take annual leave during a period of illness, he must be granted a replacement holiday period to ensure that he is not deprived of his entitlement to rest, relaxation and leisure. This principle is likely to apply whether the employee falls sick before or during the actual period of leave.
Posted On Wed, 7 Oct 2009
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