Originally Posted by
ayroplain [img]images/buttons/viewpost.gif[/img]
Just being devil's advocate here in relation to a court assuming authority to tell a European company how to run its business.
Actually, no. The court specifically said that it is up to a company to decide how to run its business.
Also, the court said that an Irish contract can be binding, also in the Netherlands, as long as it is also in accordance with Dutch and EU law. The Irish labor contract that both parties signed contains the following passages:
“LOCATION
(.........) This would include, for the avoidance of doubt, transfer to any of the Company’s bases without compensation. It must be understood that should you be transferred to another base you will be paid in accordance with the prevailing salary and flight pay system at that base.”
“EXCESS CAPACITY
(............) If the Company are required to reduce activity levels for any reason, it is a condition of this job offer that you agree and accept the right of the Company, at its sole discretion, to give you compulsory unpaid leave for the duration of the period the Company considers as excess capacity. For the avoidance of doubt you are not entitled to any payment during the period of compulsory unpaid leave.”
The judge ruled that these passages are absolutely not in accordance with Dutch Law. Therefore they are NULL and VOID. (in dutch: NIETIG) This means, that even if you mutually decide upon these things, they will still be complete TOSH. And this goes beyond the Ryanair contract in Eindhoven; the judge stated that this ruling is made to protect employees in the Netherlands in general, even if employees agree to waiver the right to this protection.
You can NOT waiver your workers rights. Because these rights are also the workers' rights of all other 17 million people in the Netherlands.
Back to Debenhams.
Firing people, or re-locating people, is part of
normal business proceedings. And especially in an open economy as we have here in NL. The way it works here, is as follows: If you have a
good reason to re-locate or fire employees, then you will be able to do so. If Debenhams goes bankrupt, then you have a good reason to lay off staff. If Debenhams wants to re-locate staff, then you need to compensate. You also need a so-called Social Plan, whitch is an official document, which outlines how you, as an employer, are going to deal with your staff during the coming months during the re-organisation and transition to the new reality.
However.
Re-locating employees to the other side of Europe, with 1 months' notice, is not acceptable in NL.
Firing people because they do not agree to move to the fringes of Europe within 1 month, is not acceptable either.
I am sure that Ryanair will try to sneak out of this ruling. They will not succeed, and they know it. I do expect that Ryanair will think twice before starting another base here.