Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Case round-up

by Personnel Today 25 Mar 2003
by Personnel Today 25 Mar 2003

Case round-up by Eversheds 020 7919 4500

Subsequent events render dismissal unfair
Colvin v Attol Business Systems Limited, EAT, [2003]All ER (D) 121

In this case, a redundancy dismissal became unfair as a consequence of
subsequent events.

Colvin worked alongside one other colleague, but it became necessary to make
one of them redundant. Colvin was selected and given notice, and he then left
employment. Shortly afterwards, his colleague resigned, and the position was
advertised in the job centre. Colvin was not offered the job and brought an
unfair dismissal claim.

The tribunal held that there had been inadequate consultation during the
selection process, and found that Colvin’s employment would have continued for
another month had a fair procedure been followed.

Compensation was limited to that period. Colvin appealed against the award
on the basis that the company’s failure to offer him the other job meant his
dismissal was unfair for reasons other than just the lack of consultation. The
EAT allowed his appeal.

Had Colvin been engaged for the additional month, there would have been no
need for the company to advertise externally for his colleague’s position to be
filled. It was unfair to carry out an otherwise genuine redundancy dismissal when
more work became available, or the pool of people to be dismissed had reduced.

Cause of the impairment should be disregarded
Power v Panasonic UK Limited, EAT, [2003] IRLR 151

Power was employed as an area sales manager. Following a reorganisation,
Panasonic reduced the number of area sales managers. Power was signed off sick,
and was eventually dismissed. She then brought a claim of disability
discrimination.

It was agreed by both medical experts that she was suffering from depression
and drinking heavily during her period of sick leave.

In deciding whether Power was disabled under the Disability Discrimination
Act, the tribunal had to consider whether alcoholism had caused Power’s
depression, or whether depression was the cause of her alcoholism.

The tribunal held that Power was not disabled within the meaning of the Act,
on the basis that alcohol addiction is expressly excluded as an impairment for
the purposes of the statutory definition of disability (under the Disability
Discrimination (Meaning of Disability) Regulations 1996).

Power appealed, citing the statutory guidance on the definition of
disability, which provides that a tribunal should not have regard to the cause
of an impairment, even if the cause itself would not amount to a disability or
impairment within the meaning of the Act.

Her appeal was allowed. The EAT said that it is not material to a decision
as to whether a person is suffering a disability to consider how the impairment
was caused. A tribunal must ascertain whether the impairment itself is a
disability within the meaning of the Act, or whether it is an impairment
excluded by reason of the regulations. The case was remitted for a rehearing.

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
Employers ignore calls for equal pay for women
next post
Homeworkers miss out on training and development

You may also like

The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls

24 May 2022

Grants scheme set up to support women’s health...

16 May 2022

How music can help to ease anxiety at...

9 May 2022

OH will be key to navigating ‘second pandemic’...

14 Apr 2022

OH urged to be aware of abortion consultations...

8 Apr 2022

How coached eCBT is returning the workplace to...

8 Apr 2022

Why now is the time to plug the...

7 Apr 2022

Two-thirds of shift workers feel health affected by...

18 Mar 2022

TUC warns of April Covid risk assessment ‘confusion’

14 Mar 2022

Consultation on new NHS cancer standards, as waits...

11 Mar 2022
  • Strathclyde Business School expands its Degree Apprenticeship offer in England PROMOTED | The University of Strathclyde is expanding its programmes...Read more
  • The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls PROMOTED | The Great Resignation continues unabated...Read more
  • Navigating the widening “Skills Confidence Gap” in 2022, and beyond PROMOTED | Cornerstone OnDemand conducted a global study...Read more
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+