Alternative employment

Case 6: The facts

Mr Etheridge worked for a charity, the APEX Trust based in Birmingham. The trust decided that it wanted to relocate most of its operations to its London office. Etheridge was given the option of relocating but refused, unless he was compensated for his additional travel costs. The trust rejected his claim and served the redundancy notice. At around the same time a Birmingham-based job did come up. Etheridge was not told about it because his employers did not consider it suitable for him. He claimed that the redundancy amounted to an unfair dismissal and a tribunal found in his favour. The trust appealed.

The ruling

The EAT upheld the appeal. It held that the trust had acted reasonably in taking the view that it would not consult with him about the vacancy because they had already determined it was not suitable. That was the extent of the legal obligation on the employer in cases like this one.

* Apex Charitable Trust v Etheridge EAT/0360/02