Redundancy

Redundancy happens when your employer’s need for your role diminishes or ceases. Genuine redundancies involve business closures, workplace closures, reduced workforce needs, or work of particular kinds ceasing or diminishing. Redundancy is a potentially fair dismissal reason if proper procedures are followed. However, many redundancies are unfair. Employers must consult meaningfully, use fair selection criteria, consider alternatives including redeployment, and follow fair procedures. Inadequate consultation, unfair selection, or failure to consider alternatives makes redundancy dismissals unfair.

Statutory redundancy pay depends on age, length of service, with weekly pay capped at set levels. We can calculate your specific entitlement. Many employers offer enhanced redundancy packages exceeding statutory minimums. Calculate your entitlement and challenge underpayments. Redundancy pay benefits from tax relief up to a statutory threshold.

Individual consultation involves meeting with at-risk employees to discuss redundancy proposals, reasons, selection criteria, scores, alternatives, and ways to avoid redundancies. Collective consultation is required when a certain number of employees face redundancy within a set timeframe. We’ll advise on whether this applies to your situation. Consultation must be meaningful, not box-ticking. Employers must give genuine consideration to representations and alternatives. Predetermined decisions without genuine consultation make redundancies procedurally unfair.

Yes, if selection criteria are unfair, subjectively applied, or discriminatory. Criteria should be objective and measurable like qualifications, skills, experience, or attendance. Subjective criteria like attitude or flexibility allow unfair scoring. Discriminatory criteria disproportionately affecting protected groups are unlawful. Challenge scoring if you weren’t given opportunities to address assessments or criteria were applied inconsistently. Review your scores and comparators’ scores. If selection appears unfair or discriminatory, gather evidence and challenge through grievances or tribunal claims.

Employers must consider suitable alternative employment including other roles, locations, or departments. Refusing suitable alternative roles without good reason might affect your redundancy pay rights. However, employers must offer trial periods of at least four weeks for alternative roles. If alternative roles aren’t suitable after trial periods, you can refuse them and retain redundancy rights. Suitability depends on roles matching skills, pay, status, and location. Don’t accept unsuitable roles under pressure. Seek advice on whether offered roles are suitable or whether trial periods are appropriate.

Sham redundancies mask real dismissal reasons like performance or personality conflicts. Clues include replacing you shortly after redundancy, hiring new staff doing similar work, or redistributing your work to existing staff without genuine reduction in workforce needs. Sham redundancies constitute unfair dismissal as employers don’t have genuine redundancy situations. Evidence includes job advertisements, replacement appointments, or work continuation without headcount reduction. Challenge sham redundancies through unfair dismissal claims, which may succeed even if procedures appeared fair.

Don’t accept redundancy settlement agreements without legal advice. Agreements typically offer enhanced redundancy pay, notice pay, and sometimes additional payments in exchange for waiving tribunal rights. Employers usually fund legal advice fees. We review whether offers are reasonable considering your circumstances, length of service, and potential tribunal claims. We negotiate improvements to financial terms, references, and other provisions. Settlement agreements can provide better outcomes than statutory redundancy but shouldn’t be accepted without ensuring terms are fair.