Decided 17 November 2004 End date November 17, 2004 | Citation(s) [2004] EWCA 1507 | |
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Judge(s) sitting Brooke LJ, Parker LJ and Keene LJ Ruling court Court of Appeal of England and Wales Similar French v Barclays Bank plc, Dryden v Greater Glasgow, Malone v British Airways plc, Sagar v Ridehalgh & Sons Ltd, Devonald v Rosser & Sons | ||
Kaur v MG Rover Group Ltd [2004] EWCA 1507 is a UK labour law case concerning the contract of employment. It held that promises to make no compulsory redundancies in a collective agreement were "aspirational" and not apt for being incorporated into individual contracts of employment. This meant that, aside from the collective agreement being unenforceable under TULRCA 1992 section 179, the promises to employees could be broken.
Contents
Facts
The car manufacturer, MG Rover was in trouble. Mrs Kaur’s contract said,
Her work place collective agreement was called ‘The Way Ahead Partnership Agreement’ signed in 1997, which in ‘Job Security 2.1.’ said the following.
Mrs Kaur was threatened with redundancy in 2003. She claimed an injunction against being dismissed.
Judgment
Keene LJ said that even when there were express words, the question was whether the context and character of the agreement made them apt for incorporation into individual contracts. Therefore, the agreement was not intended to create individual rights.
Jonathan Parker LJ and Brooke LJ agreed.