In person For the v Ramos Seafoods Ltd — 2020

Mr P Mitchell brought a claim of unfair dismissal against Ramos Seafoods Limited. The respondent did not attend the hearing. The tribunal proceeded in its absence under Rule 47 after noting that the respondent had had an opportunity to attend and that there was limited factual dispute. The claimant said he worked as a driver for 30 hours per week and was told on 29 July 2019 that he was redundant with immediate effect. The respondent’s response accepted that it had been trading at a loss and that workforce reductions had taken place, but said the claimant had been paid the appropriate redundancy payment.

The tribunal accepted that the business had recently changed management and that there had been a reduction in the need for drivers, but it found that there had been no attempt to follow reasonable industrial relations practice. In particular, the claimant was not offered reduced hours, was not informed of the basis on which he or others were selected, and there did not appear to be a reasonable selection process. The tribunal also noted that other drivers were made redundant but not all, and that by September 2019 the respondent was advertising for drivers at the same pay rate carrying out the same roles.

Applying sections 94 and 98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the usual range of reasonable responses approach, the tribunal held that the dismissal fell outside the band of reasonable redundancy dismissals. It described the respondent’s approach as summary dismissal followed by a redundancy calculator payment and a follow-up email, which was not reasonable in the circumstances of what was said to be a short-term reduction in the need for drivers. The complaint of unfair dismissal was therefore well founded.

On remedy, the claimant did not seek reinstatement or re-engagement. The tribunal recorded that he had already received his statutory redundancy payment and therefore was not entitled to a further basic award. It awarded a compensatory award of £984.40, made up of £500 for loss of statutory rights and £484.40 for lost earnings between dismissal and securing a new post on the same earnings. The Recoupment Regulations were held not to apply.