Employment and pensions

Welcome to our latest Coffee Break in which we look at the latest legal and practical developments impacting UK employers

Fair redundancy process: EAT provides a helpful reminder

Announcing redundancies is never easy and employers will need to bear in mind not only their legal obligations but also the impact on their workforce and those personally identified "at risk". It is critical that the process put in place where redundancies are proposed is a fair one where individuals are given the opportunity to ask questions around their selection and potential outcomes and receive considered responses.

In a recent decision, the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) has held that the redundancy dismissal of a nurse was unfair, as the sole selection criterion used was that her fixed-term contract ended before that of her colleague, putting her in a selection pool of one, where no consultation had taken place prior to that decision. It is not within the band of reasonable responses, in the absence of consultation, to adopt one criterion which simultaneously decides the pool of employees and which employee is to be dismissed.

The EAT made the following observations applicable to all employers:

• When identifying the appropriate pool of employees from which to select those at risk of redundancy, "the authorities show a tribunal cannot and should not easily interfere with an employer's decision as to the pool". However, "the question that the tribunal must answer...

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