EU: the Advocate General gives his opinion on three collective redundancy cases

On February 6 the Advocate General Wahl gave his opinion on three eagerly awaited cases from the UK and Spain where they have attracted much attention. The two UK cases should contribute to clarifying the concept of ‘establishment’, since it is at this level that the redundancy threshold is calculated for means of collective redundancies. The Spanish case should clarify to what extent the early termination of a temporary contract  (defined term employment contract, contract for a specific task, project) can enter into calculations for redundancy thresholds.
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Definition of establishment. The two UK cases concern retailers who closed several outlets with several hundred redundancies. Neither employer implemented a collective redundancy procedure (including information and consultation with employee representatives). From the employers’ side, UK law provides that where an employer proposes to make at lest 20 employees redundant at one establishment within a period of 90 days or less then the employer should consult the employee representatives. In the

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