Unite Wins Court Case To Protect Long Serving Workers

Following a judgement in the Court of Appeal today, companies can take employees’ length of service in to consideration when dealing with redundancies.

Clarifying the fate of several hundred Rolls Royce workers facing redundancy, three judges said that how long they had worked at the company was an acceptable factor to consider – even though it gave older staff an advantage over younger colleagues.

The issue has perplexed employers since new laws banning workplace discrimination on the basis of age were introduced in 2006.

Many businesses, including Rolls Royce, were concerned that using length of service as a criteria in redundancy selections would fall foul of age laws because it automatically puts younger workers in a weaker position.

But today the Court of Appeal, ruled that length of service can be used as one of a range of determining factors in redundancy selections.

The decision will also benefit older workers who will now have an extra layer of protection against lay-offs. Unite said older employees deserve this additional protection because if laid off, they were less likely to find new jobs in the current market.

At Rolls Royce, managers scored each worker under threat of redundancy against five categories – achievement, self-motivation, expertise, versatility and personal contribution.

The scores would then be used to select redundancies with lower scorers facing redundancy first.

But at the end of the assessment, workers were given an additional point for each year they had worked at Rolls Royce, the controversial criterion that led to today’s court case. Similar systems are used in many companies.

Derek Simpson said: “We are delighted with this decision. The ruling sets a precedent, where other factors are equal, for protecting older workers from the effects of redundancy.