Yes, an employer can use a selection pool of one

The claimant worked for a small distributor. He was the only member of staff based in China. Other employees, based in the UK, carried out administrative and telesales work. The employer decided to replace its Chinese operation with local Chinese distributors. As a result, the claimant was placed in a redundancy selection pool on his own, leading to his dismissal for redundancy.

The claimant brought a claim for unfair dismissal, arguing that no reasonable employer would automatically limit the redundancy selection pool to just those employees whose work had reduced, excluding other staff with interchangeable skills, especially since he also had experience doing telesales and administrative work. The tribunal disagreed and found the dismissal fair. The claimant appealed.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) agreed with the tribunal. As a general rule, it is for management to decide on the selection pool (Fulcrum Pharma v Bonassera [2010] UKEAT/0198/10) and a tribunal will not interfere unless no reasonable employer could have decided to form the pool in that way.

This employer’s decision was entirely reasonable. The decision to close the China office placed only the claimant’s role at risk of redundancy. Selection from a “pool of one” could not be challenged on these facts. “Selection only operates, where fairness is concerned, where there are a number of similarly qualified possible targets for redundancy. In this case there was only him”. See alternative decision below.

Halpin v Sandpiper Books Ltd UKEAT/2012/0171