Tag: unfair dismissal

• Unfair dismissal: The Tribunal should have looked at whether (and if not why not) the employer had considered redeployment before deciding to dismiss. This is an issue that tribunals should always consider, regardless of whether it is raised by the employee. This has to be considered to establish whether dismissal falls within the range of reasonable responses. The EAT returned the claim to the Tribunal to consider this point.
• Disability discrimination: However, the Tribunal did not need to consider whether redeployment was a reasonable adjustment. Reasonable adjustments would usually need to be raised by the disabled employee or on their behalf. Redeployment had not been suggested by the employee or the occupational health adviser before the employee’s dismissal or even at the Tribunal hearing. It was not clear what the effect could have been, if any, of redeploying the employee as a means of making a reasonable adjustment. Therefore the disability discrimination claim failed.

Implications: Before dismissing an employee with sufficient length of service to bring an unfair dismissal claim (currently two years’ service) for reasons related to ill-health, it is important to explore redeployment opportunities. Also, keep good records of having done so.

In respect of disability discrimination, although redeployment is a potential reasonable adjustment for disabled employees (and one which employers should generally consider) if the employee fails to raise this, an employer may be able to successfully argue that there was no need for them to consider it.