Does the ‘range of reasonable responses’ test apply to the decision to use a ‘pool’ of one in a redundancy selection exercise? Yes, says the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) in Wrexham Golf Co Ltd v Ingham.
Kate Fretten, Employment Partner, says “The golf club dismissed the claimant, its sole bar steward, for redundancy. The employment tribunal found the dismissal unfair, noting that the club had not considered any sort of selection pool.”
The EAT overturned the finding of unfair dismissal, holding that the employment tribunal had not applied the ‘range of reasonable responses’ test to the question of whether it was reasonable for the club to focus on the claimant alone as the person at risk of redundancy, indicating that the tribunal ought to have asked itself whether it was reasonable for the club not to have considered selection from a wider range of employees than just the claimant.
The EAT also held that the employment tribunal’s findings on consultation were linked to the ‘pool’ issue, and remitted the case for re-hearing in a fresh tribunal.
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