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Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions >> Doole v Atlas Couriers Services Limite... [2010] NIIT 02860_10IT (04 March 2011)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/nie/cases/NIIT/2011/02860_10IT.html
Cite as: [2010] NIIT 02860_10IT, [2010] NIIT 2860_10IT
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THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS
CASE REF: 2860/10
CLAIMANT: Brian Doole
RESPONDENT: Atlas Couriers Services Limited
DECISION
The decision of the tribunal is that the claimant is entitled to a statutory redundancy payment of £2,280.00 calculated as set out in this decision.
Constitution of Tribunal:
Vice President (sitting alone): Mr Noel Kelly
Appearances:
The claimant appeared in person and was not represented.
The respondent did not appear and was not represented.
1. The claimant was employed as a Warehouse Operations Manager from 6 February 2006 to 29 October 2010.
2. His gross weekly earnings were £502.31. He was aged 57 at the time of his dismissal.
3. He was dismissed following a restructuring of the respondent’s business which made his previous role redundant. The restructuring was necessitated because of a significant downturn in trade. I am therefore satisfied that this was a redundancy situation.
4. The respondent did offer the claimant alternative employment as a debriefer/driver or as a driver. Both alternatives would have resulted in a significant loss of earnings and both would have resulted in a loss of managerial status. The claimant refused both offers on those grounds.
5. Part XII of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 deals with entitlement to statutory redundancy payments. Article 176 would exclude an employee from a statutory redundancy payment if that employee had been offered re-engagement under a new contract of employment, provided that that offer had been an offer of suitable alternative employment in relation to that employee and provided that the employee had unreasonably refused that offer. The EAT in the decision of Cambridge & District Co-Operative Society Ltd v Ruse [1993] IRLR 156 held that the question of suitability of an offer of alternative employment is an objective matter, whereas the reasonableness of the employee’s refusal depends on factors personal to him and is a subjective matter to be considered from the employee’s point of view.
6. I am satisfied that the offers of alternative employment were not suitable since they both involved a significant drop in earnings and both involved a significant loss of status. I am equally satisfied that the claimant had not acted unreasonably in refusing these two offers. I therefore conclude that the claimant is entitled to his statutory redundancy payment.
Statutory redundancy
7. Four completed years of service (factor of six) multiplied by £380.00 (maximum weekly pay) = £2,280.00.
8. This is a relevant decision for the purposes of the Industrial Tribunals (Interest) Order (Northern Ireland) 1990.
Vice President:
Date and place of hearing: 1 March 2011, Belfast
Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties: