Latest in Employment Law>Case Law>Haycocks v ADP RPO UK Ltd [2023]
Haycocks v ADP RPO UK Ltd [2023]
Published on: 17/01/2024
Issues Covered: Dismissal Redundancy
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Jason Elliott BL Lecturer in Law and Barrister
Jason Elliott BL Lecturer in Law and Barrister

Jason Elliott was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2013 and is the Associate Head of School of Law at Ulster University.  As a practising barrister, he has developed a largely civil practice representing individuals, companies and public bodies in litigation. This covers a wide range of areas including personal injuries, wills and employment law. In terms of employment law, he has represented both applicants and respondents in the Industrial Tribunal.   At Ulster University, Jason lectures extensively on the civil areas of practise such as Equity and Trusts and delivers employment law lectures for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Background

Background: 

The respondent was a subsidiary of a recruitment company based in the USAThe claimant was part of a small team recruiting for a single clientDuring the pandemic, the recruitment needs reduced and the respondent decided to reduce its workforce.   The parent company provided a process by which to score and select employees for retentionThe claimant was last and he was consulted a few weeks later explaining that he was welcome to suggest alternative approaches.   Two weeks later he was dismissedThe claimant complained that the dismissal was procedurally unfair due to a lack of consultation and a subjective scoring process. 

Outcome: 

At first instance the Tribunal found that the claimant failed to show that he should have been ranked higher.   As a result, they found the procedure to be fair and reasonable.  

The claimant appealed to the EAT and the appeal was successful.   The first ground was the need for reasonableness where the EAT outlined that the consultation should generally take place at the formative stages of the redundancy situationThis should give the employees an opportunity to provide input and be able to impact the decision.    The second issue was the relationship between subsidiary and parent companyThe EAT noting that there will be differing approaches between nations as to what constitutes good industrial relationsIn this case, the use of USA selection criteria may not reflect good industrial relations as would be expected in the UK.   The EAT held that there was a lack of reasonableness due to the absence of consultation at the formative stageWhilst the Tribunal could still hold that such a process was reasonable they would have to explain why it was reasonable bearing in mind the lack of consultation at that formative point.   The Tribunal, here, did not do so and there was no good reason for the lack of consultation at that pointAccordingly, the appeal was allowed and case remitted for remedy. 

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

This case demonstrates the importance of ensuring reasonableness within the redundancy processThe controlling hand of the US parent company in this case led to a lack of adherence to what would be normal in a UK redundancy scenario.   The lack of good reason for the failure to hold consultation at the formative process was fatal here leading to the claimant’s appeal being successful      

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Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 17/01/2024