Mr Woodman, Solicitor For the v Respondent — 2021

The tribunal dismissed Mr Forsbrey's unfair dismissal claim. It found that Flitetec Ltd dismissed him on 30 June 2021 for redundancy, not because of any alleged hostility arising from the messages between Mr Lea and Ms B. The respondent had suffered a substantial downturn during the covid-19 pandemic, including an around 70% loss of revenue, and had already furloughed staff, reduced headcount in autumn 2020, and reviewed its business strategy to keep trading.

By spring 2021 the respondent concluded that further savings were needed and identified the claimant's Senior Sales Account Manager role as redundant. The tribunal accepted that the claimant had struggled to generate sufficient business, that his work had diminished, and that he was the only salesperson employed in the manufacturing division, so the redundancy pool was limited to him. It also accepted that consultation took place on 14, 21 and 29 June 2021, that a lower-paid Sales Executive role in the distribution division was discussed, and that the claimant declined to be considered for that role.

Applying sections 98(2)(c) and 98(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the tribunal held that redundancy was a potentially fair reason and that the respondent acted reasonably in the circumstances of a small employer facing serious financial difficulty. It also noted that Mr Lea absorbed the claimant's work and rejected the claimant's appeal/grievance point about the Ms B messages. The claim was dismissed and no tribunal award was made.