Redundancy hasn’t been in the general news recently, although Eversheds, the national law firm did hit the headlines when it was successfully sued by a male employee it selected and made redundant. He alleged that he had been the victim of sex discrimination because he was not scored as well as a female colleague, in the same selection pool, who was on maternity leave at the time. She was scored more favourably because the firm feared doing anything else would have exposed them to a claim for sex discrimination from her. Eversheds are appealing the decision.
This is an unusual case and not just because it was a man who was claiming he had been treated less favourably than a woman. For a claimant (employee) it is usually quite difficult to challenge the selection pool and rationale for making the cuts: it is usually easier to criticise the process used. The Eversheds case highlights to employers that they need to be very careful how they draft and implement selection criteria.
If you need advice on any aspect of redundancy, whether you’re an employer or employee, please do get in touch with me: 0207 464 8433 or michaelscutt@dalelangley.co.uk
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