Veitch Penny LLP - Exeter | Crediton, Devon

Case

Amicus v Macmillan Publishers Ltd
Employment Appeal Tribunal – 24 July 2007

Issues

(1) The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004
(2) Employee consultation
(3) Penalty notice

Facts

The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 (“the Regulations”) were designed to provide employees with a structure of involvement and consultation in the affairs of their employers. The Regulations require employers to set up information and consultation arrangements regarding the running of the employers’ business. The process is triggered by a valid request from the employees. Upon receipt, the employer must make arrangements to allow for representatives from the employees to be elected in order to negotiate a consultation agreement unless there is a pre-existing agreement which satisfies the requirements of the Regulations.

In this case, Amicus made an application to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) who found that Macmillan received a request and had failed to arrange a ballot of its employees in order to elect representatives. Macmillan contended that it already had existing agreements in place with its employees which satisfied the requirements of the Regulations. The CAC found that these agreements were not valid because they didn’t cover the entire workforce. Consequently, the union applied for a penalty to impose in relation to Macmillan’s breaches.

Decision

The Employment Appeal Tribunal imposed a £55,000 penalty (the maximum being £75,000) for breaches of the Regulations. They had concluded that the company had ignored the legislation, committed a number of breaches of the Regulations and delayed in dealing with the employees’ request. It concluded that this case did not amount to the most serious breach of the Regulations but it was a grave breach which had affected many employees. It therefore concluded that £55,000 was appropriate to deter others from taking a similar attitude to the Regulations.

Comments

It is the first case under these Regulations where a penalty has been awarded. It highlights the importance of employers taking their responsibilities under these Regulations seriously and to act promptly if a request is made.


Rachel Billen – Associate Solicitor, Commercial Department at Veitch Penny.
Tel: 01392 278381, Fax: 01392 410247, Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

This Employment Law Update does not constitute legal or other professional advice and should not be relied on as such. You should take specific advice regarding your circumstances before taking any action based on the information contained within this Update.