"I want my job back!" – employment tribunal remedies

A remedy that is open to an employment tribunal to award if it upholds a complaint of unfair dismissal is reinstatement or re-engagement.
Reinstatement requires the employer to treat the employee as if they had never been dismissed. Re-engagement requires an employer to re-engage a claimant in employment that is comparable to the job from which an employee is dismissed, or in other suitable employment.
In considering whether to make an order for re-engagement, the tribunal must have regard to any wish expressed by the claimant and whether it is practicable for the employer.
Case: Lincolnshire County Council v. Lupton [2016]
In Lincolnshire County Council v. Lupton, the Council employed Miss Lupton as a support worker at a youth centre in Grantham. She worked on Tuesdays and Thursdays (8.30am to 3.15pm) and on Wednesdays (8.30am to 3.00pm).
Miss Lupton became a foster carer. The Council accepted her inability to work during school holidays or outside school hours through a combination of unpaid leave and time off in lieu. However, the Council later asked Miss Lupton to change her working hours. Miss Lupton refused and was dismissed. She succeeded in her unfair dismissal claim.
Miss Lupton sought either reinstatement or re-engagement. A tribunal found that reinstatement was not practicable because the working relationship between Miss Lupton and two of her former colleagues at the youth centre had irretrievably broken down. This made re-engagement at the youth centre impracticable also. However, the tribunal found the Council was one of the largest employers in the area and had many roles in schools that could satisfy a need for term-time only working.
On appeal by the Council, the EAT found that it was wrong to expect the Council to find a generally suitable place for Miss Lupton, irrespective of actual vacancies. Further, the tribunal had failed to identify with enough detail the nature of the employment in which Miss Lupton was to be re-engaged.
What to take away
This is a helpful decision for employers. While orders for reinstatement or re-engagement remain rare, where a claimant is seeking re-engagement the case helpfully highlights that the onus is on the claimant to identify potential roles and seek disclosure from the respondent. A claimant should also identify necessary changes, such as variation of working hours or other types of flexible working arrangements, so the respondent can attend a hearing prepared to deal with the possibility of any changes.