Enhanced Redundancy Package Based On Custom And Practice, HR Headlines

The Courts have recently addressed the issue of whether an employee is entitled to an enhanced redundancy payment based on the custom and practice of the employer.

In the case of Park Cakes Ltd v Shumba and others, the Court of Appeal has upheld the Employment Appeal Tribunal's decision to remit a case to a fresh employment tribunal to decide whether employees had an implied contractual right to an enhanced redundancy package based on custom and practice. The Court found that the first instance tribunal had failed to give adequate reasons for its findings that the employer had not sufficiently drawn its redundancy policy to the employees' attention.

Although, as it stands, this decision is only a remission to the Employment Tribunal, it is an important reminder to ensure that redundancy policies are clear and that any enhanced entitlement is offered consistently and in accordance with such policies.