On 24 February 2026, Berger Paints Barbados Ltd (BPBL) announced that it would be closing down on 24 April 2026.
On 28 February 2026, the Labour Minister issued a statement about the unfortunate closure of BPBL. The statement is available at the Government Information Service’s website.
The Labour Minister stated that -
“Good practice and legal rulings suggest and mandate that the consultation must be meaningful. I am not sure how meaningful consultation can be if a decision has already been made and if it appears to be written in stone. On the legal side, therefore, my concern is that the announcement may tarnish the ability of the company and the trade union representing the workers to have meaningful consultations.”
Employment Rights Act 2012
BPBL has no legal obligation to undertake redundancy consultation as per the Labour Minister’s statement. Because the the consultation requirements set out in section 31 of the Employment Rights Act 2012 (ERA) does not address a situation where an employer is closing down.
For example, section 31 of the ERA does not state that an employer must consult about the ways of avoiding or reducing redundancy dismissals. If section 31 of the ERA did so - it would follow that consulting about preventing the closure of BPBL - would be a way of avoiding or reducing redundancy dismissals.
Hence, the author would propose that section 31 of the ERA should be amended to state that an employer must consult about the ways of avoiding or reducing redundancy dismissals.
Alternative Employment: Where a branch of a business or a sister company is being closed - section 31(1)(6)(b)(iii) of the ERA may enable an employee to avoid being made redundant.
Case Law
The author is unaware of any case law in relation to section 31 of the ERA that ruled that if an employer closes down - it must undertake redundancy consultation as per the Labour Minister’s statement. The Labour Minister did not quote any case law to support his statement.
Good Practice
An employer has no obligation to follow any practice that the Labour Minister considers to be good practice. And the definition of good practice will vary from one employer to another employer. However, the author agrees with the Labour Minister that redundancy consultation must be meaningful (and genuine).
Also see the news item entitled Redundancy Consultation.