Fired on a Zoom call…
Following the recent story in the news, Employment Solicitor Emma Spandrzyk discusses “Fired on a Zoom call” in her latest blog…
Imagine… You join what in a post Covid world is a perfectly usual Zoom meeting. You join the meeting along with hundreds of your colleagues. To then be told by your boss that the company is not performing well and has to make cuts. You are told that you are all affected and because of this, you are dismissed with immediate effect. Fair? Absolutely not!
This is the situation that 900 staff found themselves in last week when an American company dismissed them without prior warning during a Zoom call.
It is worth noting that the American legal system is very different from our own. But, with that being said, anyone’s moral compass is likely to point to a finding that this conduct is questionable at best.
In this country, redundancy is of course a potentially fair reason for dismissal. However, this is provided that there is a genuine redundancy situation and that your employer follows a reasonable consultation process prior to confirming redundancy. Bear in mind that in circumstances where an employer is proposing to make 20 or more redundancies, this will actually trigger collective consultation.
As part of the consultation process, an employer has a duty to consider any suitable alternative positions that may be available in an attempt to avoid redundancy. Suitable selection criteria should also be defined in cases other than a proposal to make an individual occupying a stand-alone position redundant.
You can access the full article regarding those made redundant via a zoom call here.
How Can We Help?
If you are facing redundancy or you believe that your employer has implemented an unfair redundancy process. Or you are facing any other employment law issues then our dedicated Employment Team is on hand to help. For advice and assistance please don’t hesitate to contact me on e.spandrzyk@timms-law.com or 01530 564498. Alternatively, visit our website here.
December 2021