Unfair dismissal in selection for redundancy: employment tribunal decisions

This article summarises the main issues and outcomes in five tribunal cases where individuals brought unfair dismissal claims in relation to a decision by their employer to make them redundant. Although the decisions are not binding on other tribunals, they provide useful illustrations for employers of situations that have led to unfair dismissal claims for redundancy. 

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Introduction
“Deliberate manipulation” of selection matrix made redundancy procedure a sham
Existing selection criteria were fairly amended and applied
Lack of transparent redundancy selection criteria contributed to unfairness of dismissal
Specific facts meant lack of transparency in the selection criteria did not render dismissal unfair
No redundancy situation without actual or prospective cessation or diminution of work

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Introduction

Redundancy is a potentially fair reason for dismissal. This means that where an employer can establish that an employee was dismissed by reason of redundancy as defined in s.139(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 the dismissal will be fair under s.98(4) provided that the employer acted reasonably in treating redundancy as a sufficient reason for dismissal.