Incorrect redundancy procedure leads to unfair dismissal claim

The economic downturn has obliged many businesses to make some of their employees redundant.

Firms that find themselves in this position need to take great care to ensure the correct procedures are followed. Failure to do so could result in a successful unfair dismissal claim, as a recent case illustrates.

It involved a woman who worked as an actuary alongside three colleagues. They each had their own portfolio managing assets owned by pension funds.

The woman’s workload declined through no fault of her own and so she was made redundant. 

She brought a claim of unfair dismissal because she was the only person in the selection pool for redundancy. She submitted that the pool should have contained all four actuaries.

The tribunal found in her favour. It held that limiting the size of the pool to her alone was unfair because the other actuaries were doing similar work and there was only a slight risk that the company would lose business if the identity of a scheme actuary was changed.

The decision has now been upheld by the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Please contact Robert Bedford if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of employment law.