Redundancy

If you are let go from your job for the reason of redundancy, your employer must have followed the correct procedure before dismissing you. If they fail to do so it could mean that you have been unfairly dismissed and you may be entitled to compensation in addition to statutory redundancy pay.

What counts as a fair procedure will differ in each redundancy case. However, your employer should consult with you before deciding whether to make your job redundant to discuss: 

• Ways to avoid the redundancy.
• How employees at risk of redundancy will be selected.
• The criteria and scoring used to decide who will be made redundant.
• Potential suitable alternative employment within the employer or any associated employer.

Should this not have taken place, you may have grounds for an unfair dismissal claim against your employer. 

If you are selected for redundancy, you should be paid for your notice period and any accrued holidays in addition to any statutory redundancy pay that you may be eligible for. Your notice period should be at least: 

• One week if you were employed for less than two years.
• One week for each year you were employed after two years up to 12 years.
• 12 weeks if you were employed for more than 12 years.

Your employer should also give you a reasonable period of time off to look for alternative employment if you have been continuously employed for 2 years by the date your notice period ends. 

Employers must implement a fair procedure to decide who to make redundant in their business. A fair selection process should include your employer considering:

• That they have identified a reasonable pool of employees to choose the redundances from or whether you are the only person working in that area of the business.
• Whether it is fair if the last person to join the business is made redundant.
• Whether the disciplinary and work histories of all employees have been conducted fairly and been considered.
• Whether you lack the relevant experience or capability for your role.
•  Whether your qualifications and experience make you suitable for a new role within the business.

There are special rules that employers must comply with where they are proposing to make an employee redundant who is either pregnant, is taking maternity leave, adoption leave, or shared parental leave, or has recently returned to work after one of those types of leave.  Those employees have enhanced protection in a redundancy situation, including priority for suitable alternative vacancies.  Whether the special protection is available depends on the specifics of the employee’s situation. 

A redundancy dismissal may be automatically unfair for certain reasons. Your dismissal will be automatically unfair if, for example, your employer selects you for redundancy because you are pregnant or on maternity leave. 

Redundancy might also be unfair because:

• There was no genuine redundancy situation.
• The employer did not consult.
• The employer did not offer suitable alternative employment.
• The employee was unfairly selected for redundancy.

If you were picked for redundancy based on an unfair selection process you might be able to make an Employment Tribunal claim against your employer. For example, you may have grounds for a discriminatory dismissal claim if you were chosen because of the protected characteristics of: 

• age;
• disability;
• gender reassignment;
• marriage or civil partnership;
• pregnancy or maternity;
• race;
• religion or belief; and/ or
• sex.

If you feel you’ve been unfairly treated through a redundancy procedure, we may be able to help you secure compensation.

Our expert solicitors can assist with a variety of claims associated with redundancy situations, including: 

• Redundancy pay – If you are an employee with at least two years’ continuous service and your employer confirms your role as redundant, you are entitled to statutory redundancy pay based on your age, number of years’ continuous employment, and current salary (up to a statutory cap). Use the government’s redundancy calculator to see if you’re eligible to receive more than your employer has offered. 
• Discrimination – Your employer must act fairly, consistently and objectively when deciding who to make redundant. If you believe you were selected because of a protected characteristic (for example, your age), you could be entitled to compensation, including for injury to your feelings.
• Unfair selection – If you were chosen for redundancy because you are a member of a trade union or have been a whistleblower, you could make a claim against your employer for automatic unfair dismissal.
• Consultation and notice period – You must have had a consultation process with your employer and received a fair notice period for redundancy. Where this wasn’t the case, get in touch to see if you could make a claim. 

We may ask you to provide evidence of your redundancy-related dismissal, such as any letters, emails, other communication between you and your employer, and your redundancy payslip.

The amount of redundancy compensation you could receive from your claim will depend on the specifics of your case.

Contact us today for a free initial consultation about your case. 

We have successfully secured compensation for employees who have faced unfair dismissal, discrimination or unreasonable disciplinary action from their employers.

Find out more about our employment services and meet our team of highly qualified redundancy lawyers.