Safeway Stores plc v Burrell [1997] IRLR 200 EAT (0 other reports)
What is the correct three‑stage statutory test for redundancy?
In Safeway Stores plc v Burrell [1997] IRLR 200, the EAT rejects both the “contract test” and the “function test” for determining whether an employee was dismissed by reason of redundancy. According to the EAT, the correct “statutory test” involves a three-stage process: Was the employee dismissed? If so, was there a diminution or cessation in the requirements of the employer’s business for employees (not the employee) to carry out work of a particular kind, or an expectation of such in the future? If so, was the dismissal of the employee caused wholly or mainly by that state of affairs? It is irrelevant to consider the terms of the employee’s contract of employment at the second stage. That will only be relevant, if at all, at the third stage.
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