Kaur v MG Rover Group Ltd: CA 17 Nov 2004

The applicant was employed by the respondent who had a collective agreement with a trade union.
Held: Not all elements of the collective agreement need be intended to be legally enforceable. She complained that the collective agreement would have protected her from compulsory redundancy. Keene LJ said: ‘the words relied on by the respondent . . were not intended to be incorporated into the contracts of employment of individual employees and were not apt for such incorporation. In so far as they formed part of a bargain with the unions, the commitment was solely on a collective basis.’

Judges:

Keene LJ, Brooke LJ VP, Jonathan Parker LJ

Citations:

[2004] EWCA Civ 1507, Times 06-Dec-2004, [2005] ICR 625, [2005] IRLR 40

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal fromKaur v MG Rover Group Ltd QBD 2004
. .
CitedAlexander v Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd (No. 2) 1991
alexander_standard1991
The court considered under what circumstances a collective agreement between an employer and trades unions would be incorporated into an individual employee’s contract: ‘The so-called ‘normative effect’ by which it can be inferred that provisions of . .
CitedJohnson v Unisys Ltd HL 23-Mar-2001
The claimant contended for a common law remedy covering the same ground as the statutory right available to him under the Employment Rights Act 1996 through the Employment Tribunal system.
Held: The statutory system for compensation for unfair . .
CitedReda, Abdul-Jalil v Flag Limited PC 11-Jul-2002
PC (Bermuda) The courts should be reluctant to accept a fetter on the employer’s right to dismiss on notice where there is an express term in the contract empowering the employer to do so.
Lord Millet . .
CitedNational Coal Board v National Union of Mineworkers 1986
A collective agreement between employer and the recognised trades union was ‘inapt to become enforceable terms of an individual’s contract of employment.’ Such collective agreements may deal with the appropriate mechanisms for dealing with . .
CitedRegina v Hull University Visitor, ex parte Page CA 1991
(Orse Regina v Lord President of the Privy Council ex parte Page) The employee’s terms included two provisions, one in his letter of appointment which provided for either party to terminate on three months’ notice in writing, and one in the . .

Cited by:

CitedGeorge v The Ministry of Justice CA 17-Apr-2013
The claimant appealed against rejection of his claim that the respondent had broken his contract of employment as a prison officer by changing the collective agreement for prisons officers. The judge had found that the respective terms were not . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment

Updated: 27 June 2022; Ref: scu.219478