Polkey Reductions

Another case from the EAT (HHJ McMullen presiding) reminding tribunals that it is incumbent on them to consider making a Polkey reduction to compensation for unfair dismissal, and that the King v Eaton situation where no reduction should be made because of the difficulty of reconstructing 'what would have happened' should rarely be adopted.

The EAT split the possible Polkey options into four categories (para. 22):

1. Length of time cases, where a dismissal would have occurred in due course;
2. Loss of chance cases, where there was a chance of surviving dismissal;
3. Cases where a reduction has been effected because the Claimant was likely to have been dismissed on another ground; and,
4. Cases where there has been no reduction because there was a complete sham

Gover v PropertyCare Ltd.