Miss Sally Yellowley v YBC Cleaning Services Limited — 2022

Miss Sally Yellowley transferred from Nviro to YBC Cleaning Services Limited on 1 April 2020 and was dismissed on 19 February 2021. The tribunal found that the respondent had reorganised its work in response to the failed delivery of the Hampshire contract and changing demands caused by Covid-19, and that the claimant had been offered alternative roles, including work in Hampshire and then Reading. The tribunal accepted evidence that, when the claimant later complained about the Reading role, she threatened to go off sick if required to continue in it.

The tribunal rejected the respondent's characterisation of the dismissal as redundancy. It found that the business had not ceased or diminished its requirements for employees to do work of a particular kind within the meaning of s.139 ERA 1996; rather, the respondent had carried out a reorganisation and in some respects was expanding. The tribunal therefore re-labelled the operative reason for dismissal as some other substantial reason, namely the claimant's unwillingness to work flexibly in response to the business's changing needs.

Although the tribunal accepted that the procedure was not ideal because the claimant had not been given prior notice that dismissal was contemplated, it held that the dismissal was nonetheless within the range of reasonable responses. It relied on the months of discussions about suitable roles, the claimant's acceptance and later rejection of the Reading role, and the appeal hearing in which she did not seek reinstatement or propose an alternative way to remain employed. The tribunal said that further discussion would have been futile.

The tribunal therefore dismissed the unfair dismissal claim. It added that, had it found procedural unfairness, it would have made a 100% Polkey reduction and reduced any compensatory award to nil. The redundancy payment claim was not pursued and was dismissed upon withdrawal because any money due had already been paid.