In Alemo-Herron and others v Parkwood Leisure Ltd Case C-426/11 ECJ, the ECJ held that "dynamic" clauses in contracts of employment that refer to collective agreements negotiated and adopted after the transfer are not enforceable against a transferee that has not been able to participate in the negotiating process.
In DLA Piper's case of the week, Anderson and others v London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority, the Court of Appeal considered whether or not uncertain wording in a collective agreement allowed an employer to give staff a lower pay increase than in previous years.
Claire Thomas is managing associate, and Chris McAvoy, Joelle Parkinson, David Rintoul, and Gerri Hurst associates at Addleshaw Goddard LLP. They round up the latest rulings.
In Rosenbladt v Oellerking Gebäudereinigungsges mbH [2011] IRLR 51 ECJ, the ECJ held that art.6(1) of the Equal Treatment Framework Directive does not necessarily preclude domestic legislation that permits the use of automatic termination clauses based on the retirement age, or the use of such clauses in collective agreements. The crucial issue is whether or not such measures are objectively justified.
In Malone and others v British Airways Plc [2011] IRLR 32 CA, the Court of Appeal held that the provisions of a collective agreement that purported to set "minimum" cabin crew numbers for different routes and types of aircraft were not incorporated into individual employees' contracts of employment. The provisions amounted to a collective undertaking to operate with minimum numbers so as to protect jobs and guard against excessive workloads, and were binding in honour only.
In Malone and others v British Airways plc [2010] IRLR 431 HC, the High Court held that the provisions of a collective agreement purporting to set "minimum" cabin crew numbers for different routes and types of craft were not incorporated into individual employees' contracts of employment. In any event, an injunction would not be granted to restrain the employer from reducing cabin crew numbers below the levels specified, and, even if there had been a breach of contract, any award for damages would be for a nominal amount only.