Mr R Ramus v Fleur C Douetil — 2019

The tribunal found that Busbridge Lakes was being restructured away from bird-keeping and breeding and towards revenue-generating activities, including events and weddings, in response to the estate's financial position after the death of the respondent's husband. The claimant's role had already been changed in 2015 from Curator/Manager to Bird Keeper and General Estate Management, but by June 2017 the respondent had decided to dismiss him and the reason given was redundancy linked to the reduced requirement for bird-care work and the increased need for marketing and computer-based duties.

On liability for unfair dismissal, the tribunal accepted that the dismissal was genuinely by reason of redundancy within s.139 ERA 1996 and therefore a potentially fair reason under s.98(1). However, it held that the dismissal was unfair because the claimant had not been warned that his job was at risk and there had been no consultation before the decision was announced at the 10 June 2017 meeting. The tribunal did not accept the claimant's arguments about a redundancy pool or selection criteria, but it did find the absence of consultation fatal to fairness under s.98(4).

On age discrimination, the tribunal considered the alleged age-related comments and the surrounding circumstances but rejected them as facts from which it could infer age discrimination. It did not accept that the alleged comments were made as alleged, found one to be ambiguous and another more likely to relate to illness rather than age, and concluded more generally that the claimant's age was not an effective cause of dismissal. The complaint of age discrimination was therefore dismissed.

On remedy, the tribunal said the claimant was not entitled to a basic award because he had already received a redundancy payment and s.122(4) ERA 1996 applied. It made a compensatory award only, limited by Polkey to the four-week period it considered proper consultation would have taken. The award was calculated by reference to four weeks of net pay, accommodation, and household bill contribution, producing a total compensatory award of £2,793.88.