Record collective award for Woolworths workers

Woolworths workers in England, Wales and Scotland who were made redundant at the end of 2008 have been awarded 60-day protective awards totalling a record over £60 million.

Around 30,000 workers were dismissed when the Woolworths went into administration, but only those working at stores with 20 or more staff will receive an award.  The employment tribunal decided that each shop was a separate establishment for the purposes of the collective consultation provisions and so the obligations to consult were not triggered for the 3000 or so staff employed at the smaller shops. There is likely to be an appeal against this element of the decision.

The tribunal ruled that, despite the scale and urgency of the situation, the administrators left it too late to involve the unions and other workforce representatives. When they did call a consultation meeting insufficient time was allotted and the practical arrangements – with over 50 people joining the meeting on the phone – made it very difficult for proper dialogue to take place.

Since the company is insolvent, the National Insurance Fund will be picking up the bill, and there is statutory cap on payments out of the Fund, so workers are unlikely to receive the full amount due to them.