Tinnion Mr. Mark Sanger v Gyrodata Ltd. — 2021

Mr. Sanger brought a single claim of unfair dismissal against Gyrodata Ltd. At the outset of the hearing the Respondent accepted the claim had been presented in time, and Mr. Sanger accepted that the dismissal was genuinely by reason of redundancy. The issue for the Tribunal was whether, in the circumstances, Gyrodata acted reasonably in treating redundancy as a sufficient reason for dismissal under s.98(4) ERA 1996.

The Tribunal found that Gyrodata faced a genuine redundancy situation in 2020 because the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting fall in demand for oil and gas work caused a substantial drop in revenues and profits. It found that the company had given advance warning of potential redundancies, first through pay cuts and then through collective consultation with the Group 1 representatives for Survey Specialists, followed by individual consultation with Mr. Sanger. The Tribunal accepted that the redundancy pool of 36 Survey Specialists was a fair and obvious pool, and that the 10 selection criteria used in the matrix were reasonable.

Mr. Sanger scored 19 points and was placed in the bottom group for selection. He challenged several of his scores during the consultation and appeal process, and the Tribunal accepted one criticism: for at least one criterion, the performance score was not applied strictly in accordance with an earlier assurance given in consultation. However, the Tribunal found the relevant incident had in fact occurred and that all employees in the pool were scored on the same basis. It also found that Mr. MacFarlane and Mr. Walker acted in good faith, used records and other staff input, and that Gyrodata had no suitable alternative vacancies for Mr. Sanger, including in the ROC.

The Tribunal further held that the appeal chaired by Mr. Lindie was fair and not a sham, and that his letter gave a substantive response to each of Mr. Sanger’s points. Looking at the matter as a whole, the Tribunal concluded that the dismissal was within the band of reasonable responses open to Gyrodata and was therefore not unfair. The claim was dismissed and no remedy was awarded.