Joseph De Bank Haycocks v ADP RPO UK Limited
[2024] EWCA Civ 1291
Joseph De Bank Haycocks v ADP RPO UK Ltd
28 November 2023
[2023] EAT 129
Employment Appeal Tribunal
An employee was unfairly fired due to redundancy. The company consulted with him too late in the process. Even though the company later tried to fix things, the court said the initial lack of consultation made the firing unfair. The court stressed the importance of talking to employees early on about possible job cuts.
Key Facts
- •The appellant, Joseph De Bank Haycocks, was made compulsorily redundant from his role at ADP RPO UK Ltd.
- •The redundancy was part of a reduction in the recruitment workforce due to decreased demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- •A scoring system, based on subjective criteria, was used to select employees for redundancy.
- •The appellant was given his score after dismissal but not comparative scores of his colleagues.
- •Consultation with the appellant occurred after the key decision to make redundancies and the scoring of employees.
- •The appellant argued that consultation was inadequate and took place too late.
Legal Principles
In redundancy situations, consultation should take place at a formative stage, providing adequate information and time to respond, with genuine consideration given to the response.
Various appellate decisions, summarized in the judgment.
An Employment Tribunal (ET) can depart from general principles regarding consultation if the decision to dismiss is reasonable, but must explain why.
The judgment's interpretation of appellate decisions.
The test for fairness of dismissal in redundancy is whether the employer acted reasonably in treating redundancy as a sufficient reason, considering the circumstances and resources.
Section 98(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Fair consultation involves giving the consulted party a fair opportunity to understand matters and express views, with genuine consideration of those views.
Glidewell LJ in British Coal Corporation.
An appeal may correct an earlier procedural failing, rendering the overall process fair.
Lloyd v Taylor Woodrow Construction.
The ET must consider the whole redundancy process, including procedural fairness and the reason for dismissal, to determine reasonableness.
Taylor v OCS.
Outcomes
The appeal was allowed.
The ET overlooked aspects of consultation, failing to explain why the late consultation was reasonable despite established principles. The consultation was not at a formative stage and the dismissal was therefore unfair.
The case was remitted to the same Employment Tribunal for a decision on remedy.
The Employment Judge was already familiar with the case and remitting it would be more efficient.