Collective rights

The team has a great deal of experience in dealing with matters that relate to labour relations and collective rights issues. These can arise in a variety of organisations situations and include advising on requests for recognition, the conduct of traditional collective bargaining with trade unions and the management of industrial disputes.

We regularly give advice with regard to the increased rights given to employees to be consulted, whether in the context of large scale redundancy exercises or on the transfer of business under TUPE.

We also give advice to clients who have works councils, whether domestic or international, on the issues that arise as to the work of those bodies.

Whatever the format and whatever the situation, the management of collective consultation can be immensely difficult, such discussions will often be conducted at times of high anxiety and linked to major change within the business. Making mistakes can have a dramatic effect on relations with employees generally, trade unions and may also have a consequential impact on employee engagement.

We help our clients navigate the path between legal obligations on the one hand, and good employee relations management on the other.

Experience

Large scale redundancy exercise

Advising a major financial services client on a large scale redundancy exercise, both here in the UK and across Europe. Liaising with UK and US management, and working with counsel in various other jurisdictions, through our best friends network, we assisted HR to secure the buy-in and understanding of senior management to the exercise. We then helped the client to map out the timetable for the exercise and co-ordinated the necessary collective consultation exercise across Europe, both in terms of the message being given and the timing of key events.

Merger/acquisition TUPE consultation

We regularly advise on the consultation requirements linked to business acquisitions and mergers. This involves not only advising our clients on the legal requirements to notify and consult, but more importantly in helping them to extract and secure the potential benefits of the transaction. We understand that our advice must not only address the legal issues, but also ensure the process wins employee motivation, trust and general engagement.

TUPE consultation on outsourcing

We regularly advise on the notification and consultation obligations that can arise from outsourcing arrangements. This may be on the gain or loss of a service contract, or where a client is outsourcing or insourcing a service function, for example the outsourcing of back office functions for a financial services client to a service provider in another European jurisdiction. We have also advised on such an outsourcing to another company in a client’s group, based outside of Europe.

Industrial action

We regularly advise on the legal implications of official and unofficial industrial action. We advise on the lawfulness or otherwise of the grounds for industrial action, the opportunities for challenging the balloting, notification and other legal requirements required to gain protection for the action to be taken. By understanding the issues we can advise the employer’s options and strategic response including whether and when the employer can dismiss or re-engage, including selectively. We have been involved in advising on a number of high-profile and politically sensitive disputes.