White v C-ONE OVAL LTD [2022]

The EAT has confirmed in the case of White v C-ONE OVAL LTD [2022] EAT 56 that accepting a voluntary redundancy does not necessarily mean an unfair dismissal claim has no reasonable prospects of success.

On being informed that she had provisionally been selected for redundancy, ostensibly due to the need to reduce the number of reception/admin roles, W requested and was accepted for voluntary redundancy. However, when learned that a colleague recruited only 2 months after the consultation period began had been offered the only role that could be deemed suitable to those in the pool, W lodged an unfair dismissal claim. She argued that the redundancy was a sham used to replace her and her part-time colleague, rather than for the business reasons given during the consultation. She also contended that she had been replaced because of matters she had raised about excessive workloads covering for colleagues on sick leave and the fact that she had caring responsibilities which the retained colleague did not. C-One refuted the account and requested the claim be struck out.

At the preliminary hearing C-One argued that the claim should be struck out because the redundancy was voluntary, at the request of W, and the dismissal was bound to be reasonable in the circumstances. As such they argued it should be deemed to have no reasonable prospects of success. The Tribunal agreed and the claim was struck out.

On appeal the EAT concluded that the Tribunal had failed to engage with W’s case by only considering the request and acceptance of voluntary redundancy at the expense of the circumstances that prompted that request, which amounted to an error of law. Although no finding of fact had been made by the Tribunal in making its decision to strike out the claim, it did have before it documentation showing that “There was a dispute of fact between the parties that was relevant to the issues to be determined and it could not be said that the claimant’s case had no reasonable prospect of success”

It can’t therefore be assumed that volunteering for redundancy will always result in a fair dismissal. The circumstances that led to that decision must be carefully considered.

The case also demonstrates that tribunals should not easily strike out claims without full consideration of the facts.

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