European Union – Social policy. Article 1(1) of Council Directive (EC) 98/59 had to be interpreted as meaning that a unilateral amendment of conditions of pay by the employer, to the detriment of the employees, which, in the event of an employee's refusal, entailed the termination of the contract of employment was capable of being regarded as a 'redundancy' within the meaning of that provision. Further, art 2 of the Directive had to be interpreted as meaning that an employer was required to carry out the consultations provided for in art 2 where he contemplated effecting such a unilateral amendment of the conditions of pay, in so far as the conditions laid down in art 1 of the Directive were satisfied, which was for the referring court to ascertain. The Court of Justice of the European Union so held in a preliminary ruling in proceedings concerning a hospital's decision to issue the employees with notices of amendment of working and pay conditions, which had led to the termination of the employment relationships of some of those employees without the redundancy procedure, laid down by the national law transposing the Directive, having been followed.