What is the Polkey rule?

What is the Polkey rule?

Also known as Polkey reduction, after the House of Lords decision in Polkey v AE Dayton Services Ltd [1987] IRLR 503. A reduction in the compensatory award made to an employee in a successful claim for unfair dismissal to reflect the likelihood that there would have been a fair dismissal in any event.

Does Polkey apply to discrimination?

As stated in the Liability Judgment, the Polkey deduction applies in both unfair dismissal cases and discrimination cases, Abbey National plc and Hopkins v Chagger [2009] IRLR 86.

What are grounds for unfair dismissal?

In its simplest form, unfair dismissal is when your employment contract is terminated and your employer did not have fair reason to do so. It can also be claimed if your employer did have fair reason but handled your dismissal using the wrong procedure. You are protected by law against both these eventualities.

What are the Burchell principles?

What is the Burchell test? Essentially, this test considers the assessment of reasonableness of an employer’s actions when dismissing an employee for alleged misconduct to three questions: Whether the employer reasonably believed that the employee was guilty of misconduct.

What happened to the Polkey decision?

However the Employment Act 2002 overturned this part of the Polkey decision. This 2002 Act provided that an employer’s failure to follow procedures does not of itself mean that the dismissal is unfair if the employer can show that even if he had followed the procedures, he would still have dismissed.

Was polpolkey an unfair dismissal claim?

Polkey itself was an unfair dismissal claim following on from a flawed redundancy procedure, and the House of Lords held that the Tribunal should assess what the chances were that the employee would have been dismissed in any event.

What is a Polkey reduction in employment law?

Employment Law categorises the Polkey reduction as a cutback made in the compensation amount to establish the likelihood that the decision will be just and equitable, regardless of who wins the claim.

What is a Polkey deduction in an employment tribunal?

In an Employment Tribunal claim, a “ Polkey deduction ” is something that is capable of reducing your compensatory award in an Unfair Dismissal claim. We have provided an introduction to this which may be accessed by clicking on the link below