Consultation with individuals

Case 6: The facts

John Lewis was one of four welders made redundant when work at their employer dried up. He was dismissed on a Friday and the company received more work on the Monday, for which they re-engaged a welder who had been made redundant before Lewis. There had been no consultation, and the tribunal found this made his dismissal unfair.

Holding that consultation could have taken place during his notice period, the tribunal awarded Lewis compensation of three weeks' pay, on the basis that this was how long consultation would have taken.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that this was not one of the rare circumstances in which consultation can run alongside notice, because there were still issues such as part-time working or job sharing to be discussed.

But the tribunal should have assessed the chance that, if consultation had taken place, Lewis might have been offered the work that became available on the Monday; this could considerably increase his compensation. The case was sent to another tribunal to decide on remedy.

Lewis v Rhyal Engineering Ltd UKEAT/0088/05