Can employers subjectively choose who they like for newly created roles during a redundancy process?

The recent decision by the EAT in Samsung Electronics v Monte D'Cruz [2012] is authorisation that employers can ‘appoint the best person for the job’ and this could mean that no one from the selection pool is chosen for the role.

In this case Samsung re-organised their print division. The Claimant was one of three Heads of Department whose role was being merged into one. He unsuccessfully applied for the merged post. He then unsuccessful applied for a more junior role which came about due to the restructure. An external candidate was eventually appointed.

This decision may mean that in certain re-organisation situations if external candidates are the best people to perform the role then the dismissal may not be unfair.

This post is not legal advice and should not be used as such if you are a commercial business and are in a similar predicament please ensure that you contact me on 0113 350 4030 or another legally qualified professional before you make any decisions. I look forward to hearing from you.