Criminal Prosecutions for Failure to Notify Secretary of State of Collective Redundancies
The chief executive of Sports Direct, David Forsey, has been prosecuted for failing to notify the department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) of collective redundancies at the fashion retailer, USC.
Under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ('TULRCA') employers are obliged to notify the Secretary of State (for Business, Innovation and Skills) (BIS) where they are proposing to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees (collective redundancy). Failure to notify BIS is a criminal offence and employers are liable on summary conviction to a fine under TULRCA.
USC was bought by Sports Direct in 2011 and was put into administration and subsequently bought by a subsidiary of Sports Direct, leading to 83 redundancies.
Best Practice
This criminal prosecutions is thought to be the first under TULRCA and employers should be aware of the consequences of non-compliance in situations of collective redundancy. Fines imposed following a summary conviction were previously capped at £5,000, however since 12 March 2015 they are now unlimited.