In Wrexham Golf Club Co Ltd v Ingham Mr
Ingham worked as the sole bar steward at a golf club. He was put at
risk of redundancy when the club decided to combine the bar and
catering operations. Mr Ingham's role would be performed by
other members of the catering staff. Mr Ingham alleged that he had
been unfairly dismissed, as the club had not considered the
possibility of establishing a selection pool but had decided from
the outset that Mr Ingham would be made redundant. He claimed that
the club had given no thought to the fact that there was a
considerable overlap between the work he did and that of other
catering staff.
The original tribunal held that the dismissal was unfair but the
EAT overturned this decision as it found that the tribunal had not
considered whether the decision to place Mr Ingham in a selection
pool of one was within the range of reasonable responses. The
tribunal should have asked itself whether, given the nature of the
steward's work, it was
