Mr N Toms, of counsel For the v Respondent — 2021

The claimants, Dr G Moss, Dr K Smith and Ms J Wassell, were former senior academic staff of Buckinghamshire New University dismissed in August 2019 during a redundancy and restructuring exercise. The hearing on 4 and 5 October 2021 was limited to a preliminary issue in the indirect age discrimination claims under section 19 of the Equality Act 2010. The tribunal recorded that all three claimants were over 60 at dismissal; Ms Wassell also had separate direct age and sex discrimination claims, and all three had unfair dismissal claims, but those matters were not decided in this judgment.

The tribunal proceeded on assumptions that the respondent had a PCP of focussing the redundancy and restructuring on more senior roles/employees, that it applied that PCP to the claimants, that it would also have been applied to younger staff, and that it placed staff aged 55 and above at a particular disadvantage. It accepted the respondent's documentary and oral evidence that the wider 'Fit for the Future' and 'Transformation Phase 3' programme aimed to realise net savings of £2.8m, reduce salary costs below 50% of income, ensure financial sustainability, and create a flatter and more coherent academic structure, including new Associate Professor and Professor roles.

Applying the justification defence and the authorities it cited, including Bilka-Kaufhaus, MacCulloch, Hardys & Hansons, Heskett and Harrod, the tribunal held that cost reduction together with restructuring of the academic middle tier was a legitimate aim and that the means chosen were proportionate. It noted equality analysis material showing the redundancies affected posts including Principal Lecturers, Readers and Professors, and that those selected for redundancy were aged 55-74. The preliminary issue was therefore determined for the respondent and the indirect age discrimination claims failed; no remedy was addressed in this judgment.