§ Mrs. Wiseasked the Secretary of State for Employment to what extent it is now the practice for companies to meet the 90 days' notice before redundancy provisions of the Employment Protection Act by way of giving payment in lieu of notice; and if he will review the working of the Act in this regard, with a view to preventing this practice.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe Employment Protection Act does not enable an employer to meet his obligations to consult trade unions about prospective redundancies and to notify the Secretary of State of them by giving a substitute payment to the employees concerned. If an 643W employer who has failed to comply with the consultation provisions offers to pay the employees concerned a sum equal to the maximum protective award which an industrial tribunal could make, it is for the appropriate union to decide whether, in the circumstances, it wishes to complain to a tribunal. I do not think that it would be either practicable or desirable to deny unions this freedom of choice.