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Redundancy

Employers are allowed to dismiss employees they no longer need on the grounds of redundancy.  This is a complex process which can be very distressing and demoralising for an entire workforce if wrongly handled, so it is important to act fairly and to get the procedure right

Redundancy arises if:-

  • The whole business has closed.
  • The employee’s workplace has closed
  • There is a lesser need for employees to carry out a certain kind of work, due for example to improved technology, outsourcing, or improved efficiency.

If there is a redundancy policy in employees’ contracts it must be followed.  However, every fair redundancy procedure will be very much on the following lines, assuming there are less than twenty redundancies, and if this procedure is carefully and fairly followed the employee will usually not have a claim:

1.    Definition of a pool of employees who are “at risk”.  The employer must be clear about what exactly is no longer needed, and not try to manipulate the pool so as to weed out a particular employee.  Then he must notify all employees in the pool that they are at risk.

2.    Definition of fair selection criteria for choosing which employees from the pool are to be dismissed.  Usually these are:

  • Attendance record
  • Skills/qualifications
  • Performance/capability.
  • Length of Service

3.    Each employee is then scored.on these criteria.

4.   Each employee is given a copy of his own assessment.  He is not entitled to be given any other employees’ assessments.

5.   A consultation meeting is arranged with the employees individually to go over their assessments and get their views, which must be taken seriously.

6.   A decision letter is sent out to all employees in the pool.  

7.   An appeal can be taken to higher management.

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