Tesco is facing a Supreme Court challenge from Usdaw on what the union claims are “fire and rehire” tactics.
The case, which will be heard on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 April, is part of a long-running legal battle between the pair.
Usdaw members employed by Tesco in its Daventry and Litchfield Distribution Centres had previously won a landmark legal victory against the grocer after it had proposed to remove “retained pay”, which the trade union claimed dismissed staff and offered to re-engage them on “inferior” terms and conditions.
Tesco pursued this case further to the Court of Appeal and the original judgement was overturned.
The original court found that as the parties had agreed this payment was “permanent” and “guaranteed for life”, the employer was not entitled to serve notice on the contract.
However, the Court of Appeal did not accept that the phrases “permanent” and “guaranteed for life” showed a mutual intention on behalf of both parties that the right to “retained pay” would continue as long as the employee in question performed the role in which they were currently employed to undertake.
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The court decided to remove the injunction in place preventing the supermarket from dismissing these workers, however, Usdaw has since secured leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Neil Todd, partner of the Trade Union Law Group at Thompsons Solicitors, the firm representing the workers, said: “The individuals we represent were made a wholly unambiguous commitment within their contract of employment that they would have the right to ‘retained pay’ for as long as they continued in their respective roles.
“We contend that ‘permanent’ means just that, and it was not open to Tesco to renege from that commitment and utilise fire and re-hire tactics solely to remove that right once it had served its purpose.”
Usdaw national officer Mark Todd added: “It has always been clear to us what we agreed with Tesco in respect of our members in receipt of ‘retained pay’. That is that they would have a right to this payment for as long as they remained employed by Tesco in their current role.
“The agreement was reached at a time when the company needed these individuals to remain in post as it could not have been operationally effective if they had chosen to leave. The workers agreed to remain in the business and relocate on the basis of the guarantee of these payments when they otherwise may have taken redundancy.”
“We were therefore shocked when Tesco adopted ‘fire and rehire’ tactics to try and strip this right away and then chose to pursue a small number of employees through every court in the land to deny them wages.
“Tesco is a highly profitable business and those profits are generated by the hard work and loyalty of our members. They deserve better than be subjected to ‘fire and rehire’ and extensive legal challenges.”
Grocery Gazette has contacted Tesco for comment.
