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Case 2: The facts

At a 10-minute board meeting, an employer decided to make the role of electrical foreman redundant and to give the work to contract managers. Mr Ryan and Mr Wright were made redundant without warning or consultation, and were then offered work as subcontractors; Ryan accepted and Wright refused.

A tribunal found that Wright’s dismissal was automatically unfair and awarded compensation on the basis that, if he had been properly consulted, he would have probably carried on working for the employer. The employer appealed against the amount of compensation awarded.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal said the tribunal had been entitled to find that Wright would have remained employed if he had been properly consulted, and to calculate his compensation on the basis of the earnings he would have received.