Lawyers have warned jobs in failed companies with multiple outlets could be harder to rescue in future, following a recent employment tribunal victory for former Woolworths employees.

But in a separate development, there are signs some businesses may be allowed to restructure without incurring maximum pension liabilities.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has this week issued its full written judgment in the case which saw shopworkers' union Usdaw successfully argue collapsed retailer Woolworths had a duty to consult all its workers over redundancies.

The original tribunal held that claims against stores with less than 20 employees fell outside the UK requirement for 90-day consultation.

Employees in the smaller stores subsequently won nothing, while protective awards of £70 million were issued to those in the larger stores. However, the tribunal decided an EU directive requires consultation on any redundancies, with no reference to size of site.

Dawn Robertson, employment partner at Tods Murray, said: "While we welcome proper protection of employee rights, I fear this decision will make it much harder for some companies with multiple sites in Scotland to survive administration."

Ms Robertson added: "Those who buy parts or all of companies in trouble will now be looking carefully to see how large a problem they may be buying. It could even wreck a recovery plan if the administrator can't get all of the legal hurdles jumped through."

She said some buyers could be "scared off by large claims", adding: "The irony is this decision means a law designed to assist workers in a troubled business could cost jobs."

Morag Moffett, director at Burness Paull, said it was "a radical departure from previous interpretation of collective redundancy legislation". She said there could be an appeal process, along with challenges to the judgment through case law, but warned: "Meantime, employers with multiple workplaces should exercise caution before implementing collective redundancies, whether fresh or ongoing exercises, and consider the ramifications of this important decision in the context of their business."

Meanwhile, the proposed takeover of UK Coal by the Pension Protection Fund has refocused attention on pension liabilities.

Pensions expert and former government adviser Dr Ros Altmann said: "The sad reality of UK Coal's demise will result in its workers facing reductions of around 20% in their future pensions.

"By transferring the pension scheme to the Pension Protection Fund, the scheme's 6800 non-retired workers and former workers will have their pensions reduced to 90% of the PPF's measure of liabilities, and much of their inflation linking will be either reduced or removed."

But Dr Altmann said the go-ahead for the deal in order to keep the business on life support followed a watering-down of obligations in the case of Kodak. She said: "It may be another tentative sign that the UK authorities are starting to accept the possibility that historic pension promises may be beyond the capability of many companies to guarantee. That may be a reflection of current economic circumstances or it could be the way of the future."