Claimant v British Gas Services Limited — 2022

The claimant was employed as a Level 6 Customer Service Manager. The respondent undertook a reorganisation in 2020 to simplify its structure and reduce management posts. The claimant was placed in a pool of seven managers, with five roles to remain, and her score placed her sixth. She was consulted collectively and individually, challenged her scoring, and then accepted a temporary role until February 2021 before her employment ended by reason of redundancy.

The tribunal found that redundancy was a potentially fair reason for dismissal. It accepted that the respondent had genuinely decided to reduce the number of managers and redistribute responsibilities, and that the claimant did not dispute the pool, the scoring, or the existence of consultation. It also accepted that a later secondment opportunity could not reasonably have been foreseen at the time of dismissal. The unfair dismissal claim therefore failed.

On breach of contract, the tribunal accepted that the claimant had been told by her manager that she would still receive pay in lieu of notice if she took the temporary role. However, the contract gave the respondent discretion over whether to make a payment in lieu of notice, the earlier redundancy figures were illustrative, and the manager did not have authority to confer a contractual right to full pay in lieu. The breach of contract claim therefore failed.