Part-time worker made redundant on video call whilst on day off wins tribunal claim

A recent case involving a single parent with significant mental health issues who was made redundant on a Teams call whilst at home on a non-work day highlights the risks to employers of poorly considered processes and consequences of failing to consider individual health vulnerabilities.

Ms Neill was a part-time employee in the facilities team at Dermalogica UK. She had a history of severe depressive disorder, anxiety and panic attacks. The ill health was known to her manager and the HR department.

In November 2022, the general manager decided that the facilities department needed to reduce headcount by “0.5” and Ms Neill was identified for redundancy.

The line manager was instructed by HR to inform Ms Neill via a Teams call that she was to be made redundant. The line manager sent a Teams invite to Ms Neill in the evening on the day before the call (16th November 2022) which was titled “Catch Up.” No mention of the meeting had been made earlier in the day when Ms Neill had been in work. The meeting was scheduled on a non-working day for Ms Neill. The employee texted her manager to ask what the meeting was about but received no reply.

On the call the manager read from a prepared statement informing the employee that there had been a “global directive to reduce headcount” and “our department has been selected for half a head and unfortunately that is you.” There was no mention of any consultation process.

The tribunal noted that this approach meant Ms Neill was unprepared and had no opportunity to question the decision. She was left in shock, alone at home and isolated from colleagues. The tribunal were told this “significantly worsened her already fragile mental health” and “plunged her into despair.”

Tribunal findings

A failure to make reasonable adjustments

The employer failed to make reasonable adjustments which could have included:

• Having the meeting on a working day in the office

• Giving more notice of the meeting

• Giving a verbal overview of what the meeting would be about in advance

• Giving more clarity about the subject matter of the meeting in the invitation

• Providing the employee with the opportunity to be accompanied

The tribunal found that the employer’s methods meant the employee was “unprepared and blindsided.” The employee’s days off should have been her time to recover from work but the meeting instead “plunged her into a state of shock and despair.” Furthermore, by conducting the meeting via Teams her ill health was exacerbated as she could not benefit from the support of colleagues nor could she ask HR questions.

The lack of consideration shown by the employer and their failure to make reasonable adjustments meant Ms Neill was put at a “substantial disadvantage compared to someone without her mental health issues.”

Indirect sex discrimination

The employee also experienced indirect sex discrimination. The wording in the employer’s prepared statement that headcount was to be reduced “by half a head and unfortunately that is you” demonstrated that Ms Neill’s role was selected because it was part time.

The tribunal noted that in general more women work part time than men which meant the employer’s decision to only consider a part-time worker for the redundancy put women employees at greater risk of redundancy than male employees.

Ms Neill’s claim for part-time worker discrimination also succeeded.

Learning for employers

• When planning a redundancy process consider the specific needs of employees with disabilities. Ensure reasonable adjustments are put in place for applicable employees.

• Don’t just make part-time workers at risk of redundancy as this is highly likely to be discriminatory.

• Where an employee is part-time, ensure consultation meetings are held on their working days and in their normal work location.

• Give appropriate notice of redundancy-related meetings and offer the right to be accompanied.

• Give context in advance for redundancy related meetings.

• Always follow the ACAS redundancy consultation procedure which can be found here: Redundancy | Acas.