In the case of De Bank Haycocks v ADP RPO UK Ltd [2023] EAT 129, the Employment Appeal Tribunal decided that an employee’s dismissal for redundancy was unfair due to the absence of meaningful consultation at the formative stage of the redundancy process.
Background
The Claimant was employed by the Company (ADP) to recruit new employees for a client company. In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for new employees diminished by 50%. In May 2020, the decision was made by ADP to reduce the number of recruitment staff.
In June 2020, the company decided to score 16 team members against specific selection criteria. The Claimant came last on the scoring.
On 30 June 2020, the Claimant was called to a meeting and was told that there was a requirement for redundancies. He was invited to a further meeting on 8 July 2020 and a final meeting on 14 July 2020 where he was handed a letter terminating his employment on the grounds of redundancy. At no point prior to his dismissal, was he provided with his selection scores nor told how he had scored against his colleagues.
Judgment
The Employment Appeal Tribunal decided that:
- There had been a clear absence of meaningful consultation in the redundancy process; and
- The absence of consultation at a stage when employees could have proposed a different approach to any aspect of the proposed process and therefore could have had the potential to influence the employer’s decision was indicative of an unfair process.
