Employment

Mark Williams was successful for the second time in as many months when the Employment Appeal Tribunal rejected the Claimant appellant’s application and agreed that in a SOSR dismissal, where the employment relationship had irretrievably broken down, the Respondent was right to consider that the only option was dismissal and it was not required to consider length of service. The EAT held that an employer can only be obliged to consider length of service if it is relevant to the decision to dismiss. The decision to dismiss in this case was based on the proposition (for which he had reasonable grounds) that trust and confidence had already irretrievably broken down between the parties. The Claimant’s length of service was therefore irrelevant to the decision on dismissal. More importantly, an employer can only be obliged to consider length of service if it is relevant to the decision to dismiss. The decision to dismiss in this case was based on the proposition (for which he had reasonable grounds) that trust and confidence had already irretrievably broken down between the parties. The Claimant’s length of service was therefore irrelevant to the decision on dismissal. Read the full judgment in Read the full judgment in Ms Anne-Marie Alexis v Westminster Drug Project: [2024] EAT 188. Published 2 December 2024