United Kingdom becomes legal battleground over EWC rights amid Brexit

Compared with other national systems that serve as the basis for several EWCs, the UK has provided a wealth of jurisprudence and the reason for this is an almost two-year battle between employers’ and employees’ legal teams seeking decisions over the scope of information and consultation rights within the framework of Brexit, and the migration of EWCs to the Republic of Ireland. Unite the Union is the the largest UK & Irish trade union federation involved in this tug-of-war and it is also developing a legal strategy on a number of cases key for securing EWCs rights to experts. The most recent legal decision to date concerns the Princes Group case that was handed down on 17 January by the Central Arbitration Committee (the CAC oversees the regulation of UK labour law as it relates to trade union recognition and collective bargaining), and that provides a broad definition of the notion of ‘Transnationality’ and clarifies the issue of the right to experts.

Setting the tone for Irish courts as they gear up to handle a mass influx of UK legislation related EWCs following Brexit. Brexit means a mass exodus of UK legislation related EWCs from the UK to the Republic of Ireland. ‘In the UK we have a certain modus vivendi, but in the Republic we are heading into the unknown, with everyone trying to carve out their own territory, well aware that in the beginning Irish legal rulings will be looking to what has occurred in the UK,’ explained Stephane Portet, head of the UK subsidiary of the works council expert firm Syndex. He continued, ‘Thus for the past 18 months we have been involved in a tussle with employers’ legal firms in order to set out the scope of EWC information and consultation rights and in particular as regards the right to expertise.’

Given the circumstances,…

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