''Safeway Stores plc v Burrell'' ICR 523
is a 997
ICR 523
is a UK labour law case, concerning

Facts

Safeway (UK)">Safeway Safeway, Inc. is an American supermarket chain. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral and pharmacy, as well as Starbucks coffee shops, and veh ...

Stores plc (now owned by Morrisons) wanted to de-layer and reorganise its departments under its ‘Safeway 2000’ plan. Mr Burrell was a petrol station manager at the Penzance, Cornwall, supermarket. The petrol station manager post would be replaced by a petrol station controller who got paid less. The work was much the same. The former job description carried some management responsibility but Mr Burrell had not in practice performed them. Mr Burrell did not apply for the new post and got redundancy. He then claimed

unfair dismissal In labour law, unfair dismissal is an act of employment termination made without good reason or contrary to the country's specific legislation. Situation per country Australia Australia has long-standing protection for employees in relation to ...

. The Tribunal held the employers had not demonstrated Mr Burrell was redundant, because the new job involved the same work as before.

Judgment

Peter Clark J held the Tribunal had used the wrong test for redundancy as understood from

ERA 1996 The Employment Rights Act 1996 (c. 18) is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament passed by the Conservative government to codify existing law on individual rights in UK labour law. History Previous statutes, dating from the Contracts of Employme ...

section 139(1)(b). The right one is to ask (1) whether the employer’s need for employees had diminished and (2) whether the dismissal was caused by the diminution. So the case was remitted to be reheard. He noted that one should concentrate on the diminution of employees, not of work, referring to ''Carry All Motors Ltd v Pennington''. Furthermore, a business reorganisation is interesting factual background, but its fact does not answer the two stage question of redundancy.

Notes

{{Clist redundancy United Kingdom labour case law Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases 1997 in United Kingdom case law