Mrs S Millar v The Oak Trust — 2023

At the hearing on 23, 24, 25 and 26 January 2023 before Employment Judge Dunlop, Mrs D Radcliffe and Mr I Taylor, the claimant was represented by her husband and the respondent by counsel. By consent, the claimant’s case was amended to include claims for a statutory redundancy payment and an associated contractual redundancy payment, but those claims were not determined at this hearing and were left for the remedy stage if required.

The tribunal held that the claimant was unfairly dismissed. It found that, had a fair process been followed, the respondent would have given notice of dismissal no earlier than 2 July 2020, which would have meant that the claimant remained employed beyond her 55th birthday on 18 September 2020. The tribunal also found that, following a fair process, the chance of the claimant remaining in employment beyond the expiry of her notice period was 10%.

The tribunal further found that the respondent unlawfully discriminated against the claimant on grounds of age by failing to re-start the redundancy consultation process when the claimant asked it to do so. The compensation due in respect of the successful claims was left to be quantified at a remedy hearing listed for 9 May 2023, unless the parties reached agreement beforehand.