A rather timely reminder in the Employment Appeal Tribunal
has been issued in relation to consultation on redundancy and
the considerations a Tribunal should have when looking at that
consultation.
In the case of Ardtaraig Farming Company v Alistair Young a
handyman on a farm estate was made redundant as the Managing
Company felt there was insufficient work to keep him on.
The employee asked to go part time but was refused during the
consultation process on the basis that the job could not be
carried out part time. Following this they employed a Game
Keeper to work on a self employed basis.
In this case it was clear that during the consultation period
the employer should have had regard to the possibility of the
employee continuing to do the work on a self employed basis. It
is important to note that the Tribunal was not saying the
employer had to agree to the employee doing it on this
basis.
The Tribunal said that the employer had to contemplate the
employee doing the work on a self employed basis and it
therefore follows that an employer must be able to show that it
considered such matters.
The case of James Cook v Tipper from 1990 was also referred to
which was a Court of Appeal decision underlining the importance
of a Tribunal not trying to assess the commercial and economic
validity of an employer's reasons for making
redundancies.
This underlines the rule that employers are free to run their
own businesses and make their own mistakes in an economic
environment.
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