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Victory at Employment Appeals Tribunal

Bridge McFarland Solicitors have secured an important victory for an employee involved in a dispute over his right to receive an enhanced redundancy payment.

The Employment Appeals Tribunal has found conclusively for Unite member Kenneth Arkley in a claim that turned on the wording of his contract of employment.

When made redundant from his job with the Sea Fish Industry Authority, Mr Arkley believed he was entitled to a redundancy payment enhanced to the equivalent of ten years’ service.

However, his employer claimed it had discretion on how much to enhance the payment and offered a payment based on service of only six years, 243 days.

Mr Arkley sued for damages for breach of contract but his case was dismissed by a majority decision of an employment tribunal sitting in Hull (the Employment Judge finding in Mr Arkley’s favour).

Bridge McFarland employment law specialist Adrienne Pannu immediately lodged an appeal with the Employment Appeals Tribunal in London and the tribunal has now overturned the decision of the local tribunal and found for Mr Arkley.

The Employment Appeals Tribunal accepted Miss Pannu’s arguments that the authority’s redundancy policy was couched in mandatory, not discretionary, terms and that a reasonable person would conclude that redundant staff in Mr Arkley’s position were entitled to 10 years’ enhancement.

Miss Pannu said: “The case will now be transferred back to the local Employment Tribunal to determine the exact size of Mr Arkley’s award. However, we are delighted that he will now get the enhanced redundancy payment to which he was always entitled.”