There may be occasions when your employer needs to make redundancies. Your employer may be making lots of people redundant and could trigger the “collective redundancy” requirements, which means certain formal steps need to be followed. If only a small number of people are affected then the collective redundancy requirements are unlikely to apply, but your employer still needs to follow a fair process and consult with you.

If the collective redundancy rules apply it's important to ensure that the formal steps are being followed, which could include a secret election and consultation on specific topics either with you directly or the elected representative(s). 

If the collective rules do not apply then the consultation could last for as little as two weeks, but your employer should still consult with you and explain what is happening and why.

When advising you about your redundancy, the most common area to focus on is any selection process. If you are unfairly selected, this is where a claim of unfair dismissal for redundancy is likely to be fought and won. 

When faced with redundancy, it's important that you understand the reason(s) for your proposed redundancy and that you gather as much evidence as possible regarding the formal decision(s) that have been made.

The purpose of the consultation process is to try and find ways to avoid your redundancy/dismissal, which can include challenging your selection, looking at alternative roles or even “bumping” another individual from his/her job (meaning they are made redundant and you take their role). 

If your employer undertakes some form of assessment or selection this will get the most scrutiny and often creates the most challenges. When considering the criteria and scoring, it's important to consider whether there has been any discrimination. Often criterion is used which unfairly prejudices individuals of a protected characteristic and it's this which may help with a claim for discrimination and/or unfair dismissal.  

If you are dismissed for redundancy it should trigger your entitlement to notice, holiday pay and a statutory redundancy payment (provided you have more than 2 years’ service). If you work your notice period, you should be given time off to look for another role. You should also be given the right to appeal the decision and, if still not satisfied, you can ultimately pursue your claim before an employment tribunal. 

When faced with redundancy, it's important to remember that, technically, you are not entitled to be accompanied at formal redundancy meetings, but most employers offer this as best practice. 

If you are faced with redundancy at work and wish to challenge the validity of the restructure or your selection, then you should seek expert legal advice from us as a matter of priority.