Redundancy selection after cancer: employer concealed vacancy and lost discrimination claim

A redundancy that went wrong

When the claimant was diagnosed with melanoma in 2019, he returned to work quickly and continued to perform well. But when the pandemic hit, he was placed on furlough because he was clinically extremely vulnerable. While he was at home, his employer, Goodfish Limited, began a restructuring that would ultimately cost him his job.

The tribunal found that the redundancy process was flawed from the start. The company provisionally selected the claimant for redundancy in February 2021, but during consultation they failed to tell him that the maintenance engineer had just been promoted to maintenance manager—a role the claimant had long been promised. That vacancy was never offered to him, and the tribunal concluded this was a deliberate concealment.

What the employer could have done differently

Goodfish Limited could have avoided this outcome by being transparent. If they had disclosed the maintenance manager vacancy and considered the claimant for it, the redundancy selection might have been fair. They also should have paused or reconsidered the selection when it became clear that the claimant's furlough—directly linked to his cancer—was the reason he was not visible in the workplace. The tribunal noted that the claimant had a good performance record and no absence before his illness.

Why this case matters

This case is a reminder that redundancy processes must be genuine and transparent, especially when an employee is absent due to disability. Concealing suitable alternative roles is a serious procedural failing that can turn a redundancy into an unfair dismissal. It also shows that discrimination arising from disability can occur even when the employer's motive is not hostile—simply treating an employee unfavourably because of something connected to their disability (like being on furlough) is enough to establish liability.