An employment tribunal must consider whether a dismissal is within the range of reasonable options open to an employer, not whether it is the appropriate option.
This was a decision made by Judge Peter Clark in 2000 in an attempt to resolve a problem which has recently hindered the Employment Appeal Tribunal. This body, which hears appeals from employment tribunals, had started to decide that it could substitute its own opinion for the employer’s if it considered that the employer was wrong.
Provided the Employment Appeal Tribunal follows its own guidance (which has not always been the case), the decision should mean fewer successful appeals in unfair dismissal cases. In many cases, it is not obvious to an employer what option is appropriate. There is often a range of options any one of which could be seen as reasonable. This latest decision confirms that an employment tribunal cannot disturb whatever option is exercised by an employer, provided it is reasonable.
Beedell v West Ferry Printers Ltd. EAT [2000]
[2000]