Consultation crucial in redundancy, especially for single-person pools

In last month’s Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruling of ‘Valimulla v Al-Khair Foundation’ – an Unfair Dismissal case; the Claimant worked as a liaison officer over a portion of North-West England. The Respondent employed other individuals who carried out a similar role in other geographic locations around the country. Work for this role decreased across the country during the Covid pandemic, and as a result, the Respondent placed the Claimant at risk of redundancy in a pool of one. The other liaison officers were not placed at risk. Three consultation meetings were held, however the issue of whether the redundancy pool was appropriate was never addressed. The Claimant was dismissed and brought an Unfair Dismissal claim.

The Employment Tribunal (ET) held that the Claimant had been fairly dismissed for redundancy. It accepted the Respondent’s submission that the Claimant was in a self-selecting pool of one and found that the process was not so flawed as to be unfair. The Claimant appealed to the EAT, who primarily reviewed three points not previously considered by the ET. These were:

• that the consultation on redundancy had to take place at a time when it could make a difference,
• that the Respondent had not consulted with the Claimant about the pool for selection, and;
• that the ET had also failed to consider whether choosing a pool of one was a reasonable approach in this particular case.

The EAT substituted a finding of procedural Unfair Dismissal, due to the failure to consult about pooling. This case is of particular importance as a warning for employers, highlighting the requirement to be open and honest about the redundancy process and selection, in addition to identifying any potential issues, and addressing these in collaboration with the employee. For further information and advice, please contact us on 020 8290 0440 to speak to a member of our Employment team.