Mr C Thompson v Powys County Council and 1 other — 2025

The claimant complained of unfair dismissal following dismissal from his role as a teacher at Brynllywarch School. The respondents resisted the claim, saying the dismissal was by reason of redundancy arising from reduced requirements for general teaching posts and the introduction of specialist vocational roles.

The tribunal accepted that there was a redundancy situation, but found the dismissal unfair under section 98(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The tribunal concluded that the claimant was not given adequate information about the rationale for his selection scores, which limited his ability to make representations and arose from a breach of the respondents' own policy. It also found that the absence of an appeal was a contributory factor in unfairness, while accepting that reasonable steps were taken to look for suitable alternative employment.

The tribunal stated that, if the dismissal was not for redundancy, it would have been for business reorganisation as some other substantial reason and would still have been unfair for the same reasons. The tribunal did not decide any Polkey adjustment or remedy, referring those matters to a further remedy hearing.