 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2015) |
| Thomas Wragg & Sons Ltd v Wood | |
|---|---|
| Court | Employment Appeal Tribunal |
| Citation | [1976] ICR 313 |
| Keywords | |
| Redundancy | |
Thomas Wragg & Sons Ltd v Wood [1976] ICR 313 is a UK labour law case, concerning redundancy.
Mr Wood got six weeks' notice before redundancy. The day before termination was due he got another job offer. He refused it. He did not dispute that it was suitable and made within the statutory time limit. But he argued that he did not decline it unreasonably.
The Tribunal held that Mr Wood was not unreasonable, and therefore entitled to redundancy. [1]
Lord McDonald in the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the Tribunal was right. Mr Wood's reasons were that he had committed himself to another job, that he was wary about future layoffs if he stayed with this employer, and that the offer of alternative employment was late in the day. All these, but especially the third reason, were important, relevant and material, even though the employers were within the statutory time limit for making the offer. The argument that the statute would have said something if this was intended was rejected. [2]
United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK have a minimum set of employment rights, from Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equity. This includes the right to a minimum wage of £11.44 for over-23-year-olds from April 2023 under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. The Working Time Regulations 1998 give the right to 28 days paid holidays, breaks from work, and attempt to limit long working hours. The Employment Rights Act 1996 gives the right to leave for child care, and the right to request flexible working patterns. The Pensions Act 2008 gives the right to be automatically enrolled in a basic occupational pension, whose funds must be protected according to the Pensions Act 1995. Workers must be able to vote for trustees of their occupational pensions under the Pensions Act 2004. In some enterprises, such as universities or NHS foundation trusts, staff can vote for the directors of the organisation. In enterprises with over 50 staff, workers must be negotiated with, with a view to agreement on any contract or workplace organisation changes, major economic developments or difficulties. The UK Corporate Governance Code recommends worker involvement in voting for a listed company's board of directors but does not yet follow international standards in protecting the right to vote in law. Collective bargaining, between democratically organised trade unions and the enterprise's management, has been seen as a "single channel" for individual workers to counteract the employer's abuse of power when it dismisses staff or fix the terms of work. Collective agreements are ultimately backed up by a trade union's right to strike: a fundamental requirement of democratic society in international law. Under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 strike action is protected when it is "in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute".
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Hugh Collins, is emeritus Vinerian Professor of English Law at the University of Oxford and a fellow of All Souls College. He retains the former title as emeritus after Timothy Endicott took up the professorship on 1 July 2020.
Aileen McColgan, KC is a British barrister and academic. She was Professor of Human Rights Law at King's College London between 2001 and 2018 and is now Professor of Law and Social Justice at the University of Leeds. She is an expert in labour law, discrimination and human rights. She works as a practising barrister at 11 KBW. McColgan was selected to become Queen’s Counsel in the 2019 competition and was sworn in in 2020.
Johnson v Unisys Limited [2001] UKHL 13 is a leading UK labour law case on the measure of damages for unfair dismissal and the nature of the contract of employment.
Williams v Compair Maxam Ltd [1982] ICR 156 is a UK labour law case, concerning unfair dismissal, now governed by the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Polkey v AE Dayton Services Ltd [1987] UKHL 8 is a UK labour law case, concerning unfair dismissal, now governed by the Employment Rights Act 1996.
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Henry v London General Transport Services Ltd[2002] EWCA 488 is a UK labour law case concerning the scope of protection for people to employment rights.
System Floors (UK) Ltd v Daniel [1982] ICR 54 is a UK labour law case, concerning the construction of terms in a contract of employment.
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A Manifesto for Labour Law: towards a comprehensive revision of workers’ rights is a set of reform proposals for UK labour law, written by fifteen labour rights experts in academia and legal practice from the UK, Europe and the Commonwealth. It is edited by Keith D. Ewing, John Hendy QC and Carolyn Jones. The Manifesto urges that to stop low productivity, rising inequality, stagnant low wages, and poor working conditions, there should be a shift toward sectoral collective bargaining, worker voice in corporate governance, and a renewed Ministry of Labour with power to support democracy at work. In full, it lists 25 recommendations for reform.