Union leaders have expressed hopes that years of legal wrangling over compensation for thousands of shop workers who lost their jobs when stores went out of business could soon be resolved.

Usdaw has been pressing for compensation for former employees of Woolworths and Ethel Austin who did not receive money because they worked in stores with fewer than 20 staff.

The Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg will decide on the legality of the case next month.

John Hannett, general secretary of Usdaw, said the union's case was "morally and legally robust", adding: "We are pleased that this case is going to be heard sooner rather than later.

"We had feared that it wouldn't be concluded until the autumn of next year.

"This will mark the end of a six-year legal wrangle about workers who were unfairly ruled out of an award for not being properly consulted on their redundancy, simply because of the size of store that they work in.

"It makes no sense that workers in stores of less than 20 employees were denied compensation, whereas their colleagues in larger stores did qualify for the award.