English, Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd. v National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers [2004] EWCA Civ 1539 (15 October 2004)

English, Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd. v National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers [2004] EWCA Civ 1539 (15 October 2004)

In the context of joint industrial relations, a notice addressed to the Corporate Industrial Relations Manager and referring to 'the company', accompanied by a schedule including sites with EWSI employees, objectively constituted notice to both EWS Ltd and EWSI Ltd. The subjective intention of the union official is irrelevant; the test is whether a reasonable person in the recipient's position would understand the notice as applying to both companies.

Citation
[2004] EWCA Civ 1539
Parties
Claimant/respondent: ENGLISH, WELSH & SCOTTISH RAILWAY LTD; Claimant/respondent: ENGLISH WELSH & SCOTTISH RAILWAY INTERNATIONAL LIMITED; Defendant/appellant: NATIONAL UNION OF RAIL, MARITIME & TRANSPORT WORKERS
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
15 October 2004
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Appeal From Queen's Bench Division, Continuation of Injunction
Outcome
Appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Industrial Action, Trade Union Notices, Statutory Interpretation, Collective Bargaining, Injunctions
Labour Law Employment Law Industrial Action Trade Union Notices Statutory Interpretation Collective Bargaining Injunctions

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 2 Authorities cited 1 Party arguments 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

ENGLISH, WELSH & SCOTTISH RAILWAY LTD

Claimant/respondent

ENGLISH WELSH & SCOTTISH RAILWAY INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

Claimant/respondent

NATIONAL UNION OF RAIL, MARITIME & TRANSPORT WORKERS

Defendant/appellant

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Appeal From Queen's Bench Division, Continuation of Injunction

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the union's notice under sections 226A and 234A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 was validly served on both EWS Ltd and EWSI Ltd
  2. 2 Whether the subjective intention of the union official is relevant to the validity of statutory notice
  3. 3 Whether the statutory notice requirements were objectively satisfied in the context of joint industrial relations

Ratio Decidendi

In the context of joint industrial relations, a notice addressed to the Corporate Industrial Relations Manager and referring to 'the company', accompanied by a schedule including sites with EWSI employees, objectively constituted notice to both EWS Ltd and EWSI Ltd. The subjective intention of the union official is irrelevant; the test is whether a reasonable person in the recipient's position would understand the notice as applying to both companies.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed

Orders

  • Respondents to pay Appellants' costs
  • Application for permission to appeal to the House of Lords refused