The claimant was employed by the respondent as a General Operative from April 2016 until his employment was terminated on 30th October 2020. The respondent faced considerable financial difficulties as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic.  The claimant, along with other employees, was placed on furlough. The furlough scheme was due to change on 30th October 2020 which required employers to take on more of a burden. As a result, the respondent wrote to their employees, including the claimant, to say that the current situation is ‘not good’. The same letter stated that redundancies had to be made with a further note asking those wishing to take voluntary redundancy to come forward. The claimant felt that this only related to those wishing to take voluntary redundancy and did not give it much heed. 

On 28th October the claimant received further correspondence stating that he ‘qualified for the first round of staffing adjustments’. He was then told that he was entitled to a consultation and if he wanted to take advantage of that then he was to contact the Managing Director. The letter went on to outline his statutory redundancy detail and that his last day of employment would be 30th October. The claimant felt that this was a decision to dismiss him on the grounds of redundancy without any prior notice. The Tribunal did note that the claimant ought to have received an invitation to a proper consultation meeting and to be informed of the precise situation. It was right for the claimant to think that he had been made redundant without notice. 

It was only after the claimant appealed the decision to make him redundant that he was made aware of the matrix used by the respondent. The Tribunal noted that this demonstrated how the claimant would not have been in a position to outline if a decision was unfair. The Tribunal examined the decision by the respondent and stated that the three step approach to dismissals set out in the Employment (NI) Order 2003 was not followed. The claimant was not provided with written notice nor was he invited to a meeting. Instead, it was left to the claimant to propose that a meeting should take place. The letter of 28th October was such that the decision to make the claimant redundant had already been made in advance of any meaningful consultation.   Furthermore, the appeal made by the claimant was not dealt with by another person within the respondent. Accordingly, the claimant was automatically unfairly dismissed and was awarded £4,114.84 in compensation. 

Practical Lessons

The Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to a range of cases and most notably those relating to redundancies through the period from April 2020 to the end of October 2020. This case demonstrates that the Covid-19 pandemic, as stressful as it was for employers, did not allow for any rolling back of employment protection for employees.  Therefore, the procedural basis for a dismissal had to be followed. Therefore, placing the onus on the employee to request a meeting was insufficient to satisfy the requirements within the legislation.  Furthermore, it was clear from the correspondence that a decision had been made to make the claimant redundant without any proper consultation.   

NI Tribunal decisions are available on the OITFET website: 
http://www.employmenttribunalsni.co.uk/