Mr T Perry, counsel For the v Respondent — 2019

Assima UK Ltd was acquired by Partner One Capital in January 2019 and then began a redundancy process affecting Mr Stevens and Mr Coates. The tribunal heard evidence about the proposed restructuring, the use of Lighter HR, and the consultation letters. It found that the witnesses called were not the actual decision-makers and that the documents did not show a settled redundancy plan at the point the claimants were told their roles were at risk.

For Mr Stevens, the tribunal did not accept that there had been a genuine redundancy situation or a concluded decision to wind down the services arm when he was dismissed on 19 February 2019. It found that the financial difficulties relied on by the respondent were overstated, that the software/services strategy was still unresolved at that stage, and that the consultation was cosmetic because the dismissal decision had already been made. His unfair dismissal claim was upheld.

For Mr Coates, the tribunal likewise found no genuine redundancy situation for his alliance manager work in the UK and no basis for the alternative SOSR case. It concluded that there was still a continuing need for alliance manager work within the group, that the role was later recreated in North America, and that the dismissal decision had been made before any meaningful consultation. His unfair dismissal claim was upheld, and the tribunal also held that his salary from 1 May to 19 August 2019 had been unlawfully withheld.

The tribunal rejected both claimants' accrued holiday pay claims because their contracts and dismissal letters were treated as notice that holiday should be taken during garden leave. Mr Coates' separate redundancy payment claim failed because he was not dismissed for redundancy. The judgment did not quantify a final remedy. On Polkey, the tribunal assessed a 70% chance that Mr Stevens would fairly have been dismissed for redundancy after three months from 19 February 2019 and a 50% chance that Mr Coates would fairly have moved into a North American alliance manager role. It said that if remedy was not agreed, the parties should apply for a remedies hearing, including on whether any future redundancy payment should form part of Mr Coates' compensatory award.