Murray v Foyle Meats Ltd Redundancy Dismissal Process and Consequences

In the case of Murray v Foyle Meats Ltd, the redundancy dismissal process was a key aspect of the dispute. The company had made the employee redundant due to a lack of work.

The employee had been employed by Foyle Meats Ltd for over 20 years and had been a skilled butcher. However, the company's decision to make him redundant was not without controversy.

The employee had been given notice of the redundancy, but he claimed that the notice period was too short and that the company had not followed the correct procedures.

Worth a look: Redundancy in United Kingdom Law

In the UK, redundancy is a complex area of employment law. A redundancy situation occurs when an employer ceases to carry on a business, or a particular kind of work, or a particular kind of work in a specific location.

There are two definitions of redundancy, one found in the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the other in European law, specifically the Collective Redundancies Directive 98/59/EC. The first definition is used for claims related to unfair dismissal and statutory redundancy pay, while the second relates to collective consultation and informing employees about impending redundancies.

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A redundancy dismissal is considered fair if the employer has taken reasonable steps to identify and offer suitable alternative employment. This includes considering whether the employer or another company within the same group has other employment available.

To determine whether a redundancy dismissal is unfair, an employment tribunal will examine the following stages:

The employer must prove that the dismissal was for a potentially fair reason, such as redundancy, capability, conduct, or some other substantial reason. If the employer fails to do so, the tribunal may find the dismissal unfair.

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In the case of Murray v Foyle Meats Ltd, the key issue was whether the dismissal of slaughter hall employees was due to a redundancy situation. The correct test to determine this is to look at whether the requirements of the business for employees, irrespective of the terms of their contract or the work they actually did, had ceased or diminished.

According to the Employment Rights Act 1996, a redundancy situation occurs when an employer ceases or intends to cease carrying on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed. This can also happen if the employer ceases or intends to cease carrying out work of a particular kind, or if employees cease or diminish carrying out work of a particular kind in the place where the employee was employed.

The Employment Rights Act 1996 also states that a dismissal is to be taken to be 'by reason of' redundancy when it is 'attributable to' the fact that there is a redundancy situation. This means that even if the particular employee's role is not 'redundant', the dismissal will still be considered 'by reason of' redundancy if it is caused by or attributable to the redundancy situation.

In Murray v Foyle Meats Ltd, the employees were employed on contracts that allowed them to work in different parts of the factory, including the slaughter hall. However, the business suffered a downturn and needed fewer employees to work in the slaughter hall. The employees were subsequently made redundant, but they argued that they should not have been placed in a separate pool for selection because all employees were on the same contracts and could work throughout the business.

The House of Lords in Murray held that the correct test was to look at whether the employer's need for employees to carry out work of a particular kind had ceased or diminished. In this case, the employer's need for slaughter hall men had indeed ceased or diminished, and the dismissal was therefore 'by reason of' redundancy.

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To determine whether a redundancy situation exists, you can ask yourself the following questions:

If you answer 'yes' to any of these questions, it may indicate a redundancy situation. However, it's essential to consult the relevant laws and regulations, such as the Employment Rights Act 1996, to determine the specific circumstances of your case.

A dismissal is considered 'by reason of' redundancy if it's attributable to the redundancy situation, even if the employee's role isn't redundant itself.

To establish whether a redundancy dismissal was unfair, an employment tribunal will follow a specific process.

The employee must first establish that there was a dismissal, which is usually not in dispute.

The employer must then show that the reason for the dismissal falls within the list of potentially fair reasons for dismissal, which includes redundancy.

In a redundancy dismissal, the tribunal will look at procedural fairness, including whether there was consultation, a reasonable pool for selection, and a fair selection procedure.

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To prove that redundancy was the real reason for the dismissal, the employee must show that there was a redundancy situation and their dismissal was attributable to it.

However, if the employer can show that the redundancy was genuine but the procedure was unfair, the dismissal may still be considered fair.

A redundancy situation is considered factual, meaning it's based on the specific circumstances of the business.

In the case of Murray v Foyle Meats Ltd, the High Court held that the plaintiffs were made redundant, adopting a test of factual causation for redundancy.

The test of factual causation means that the redundancy situation must be the actual cause of the dismissal, rather than just a contributing factor.

To determine procedural fairness in a redundancy dismissal, the employer must follow a fair process, including consulting individual employees, identifying a reasonable pool of potentially redundant employees, and adopting fair criteria for selection.

The band of reasonable responses test applies in redundancy dismissals, which means that the employer's approach must fall within a range of reasonable and acceptable actions.

Here's a summary of the steps to determine procedural fairness in a redundancy dismissal:

By following these steps, employers can ensure that their redundancy dismissals are fair and reasonable, and reduce the risk of unfair dismissal claims.

In a redundancy dismissal, the employer has the burden of proof to show that the reason for the dismissal falls within the list of potentially fair reasons for dismissal. This list includes 'capability', 'conduct', 'redundancy', 'that continuing to employ the employee would contravene some other duty or restriction imposed by law' and 'some other substantial reason'.

To establish whether a redundancy dismissal was unfair, an employment tribunal will move through several stages. The employee must first establish that there has been a dismissal, which is usually not in dispute.

The employer must then show that the reason given for the dismissal falls within the list of potentially fair reasons for dismissal. This is where the employer's case begins to be scrutinized.

The tribunal will then consider whether the reason given for the dismissal was actually reasonable in all the circumstances of the case. In a redundancy dismissal, this means looking at procedural fairness, such as whether there was consultation, a reasonable selection pool, a fair selection procedure, and whether alternative work was offered.

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A redundancy dismissal can be attacked on two grounds. Firstly, it can be argued that 'redundancy' was not the real reason for the dismissal, because the redundancy situation did not exist or the employee's dismissal was not attributable to it. Alternatively, it can be argued that redundancy was the real reason for the dismissal, but the dismissal was rendered unfair by unfair procedure.

Here are the stages an employment tribunal will move through to determine the fairness of a redundancy dismissal:

A redundancy dismissal can have significant consequences for employees.

In the UK, a redundancy dismissal is considered 'by reason of' redundancy if it's attributed to the employer ceasing to carry on the business or diminishing the work of a particular kind.

The employee is entitled to certain rights, such as a redundancy payment, if a dismissal is deemed 'by reason of' redundancy.

A redundancy situation exists when the employer proposes to dismiss 20 or more employees at one establishment within a 90-day period.

The employer has an obligation to collectively consult and inform employees about impending redundancies in such situations.

A tribunal will only make a further substantive compensatory award if it finds the dismissal to be unfair and believes a fair procedure would have led to retention of employment.

The redundancy payment is usually offset against the basic and compensatory awards, effectively negating the basic award completely and reducing the compensatory award.

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