Court of Appeal overturns EAT decision on fair dismissal requirements in small scale redundancies (ADP RPO UK Ltd v Haycocks)

Article summary

Employment analysis: On 29 October 2024, the Court of Appeal handed down its decision in ADP RPO UK Ltd v Haycocks, overturning the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s (EAT) decision and restoring the decision of the Employment Tribunal (ET). Notably, the Court rejected the EAT’s suggestion that there needed to be ‘general workforce consultation’ in small-scale redundancies (where less than 20 redundancies are proposed) in order for a dismissal to be fair. The decision also pulls together the strands of much of the case law on redundancy consultation, and serves as a useful reminder of the fact that the fairness of a particular redundancy dismissal will always depend on the facts of the case. Charlene Ashiru and Kieran Wilson, barristers at Littleon Chambers who acted for the appellant, examine the case as a useful reference point for all employment lawyers and organisations making redundancies.