Miss K Stevens v 0001 Capita plc and 1 other — 2024

The tribunal dismissed all claims. It found that the claimant was dismissed because of redundancy following a reorganisation which reduced the number of Programme Director roles from five to two. The tribunal accepted that the reorganisation created a genuine redundancy situation and that the dismissal fell within the range of reasonable responses.

On fairness, the tribunal found that the consultation process was adequate, the selection exercises and scoring were unobjectionable, and the respondent took reasonable steps to identify alternative employment. It found there was no suitable alternative role available to the claimant within the limits she had set, and it rejected the suggestion that there had been a reversal of the restructuring which created fresh vacancies.

The direct disability discrimination and discrimination arising from disability claims both failed because the tribunal did not accept that the references in Ms Dudley's email to the claimant's 'vulnerability' were linked to her mental health condition; it found they referred instead to her position in the redundancy process. The claim based on replacing the claimant at the Portfolio Board meeting also failed because the tribunal accepted that the decision was taken because of a change in programme requirements, and Mr Capel was not aware of any mental health impairment. The equal pay claim failed because the tribunal accepted the respondents' explanations that the pay differences were due to length of service in one case and protected pay following movement from a higher-grade role in the other, rather than sex.