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Ask Employment Law |
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Remember: There is no substitute for legal advice on the actual
situation you find yourself in. The information posted on this site is for
general information only, is based on |
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Question: |
What is
‘redundancy’ ? |
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Answer: |
This
simple question has been the subject of some controversy over time and may
well continue to be so in the future. I’m not even going to begin to give a
definitive answer here. However, in simple terms: 'Redundancy' is a potentially fair
reason to terminate an employee's employment. An employee who is dismissed shall be taken to be
dismissed by reason of redundancy if: ·
The dismissal is
wholly or mainly attributable to the fact that the employer has ceased or intends
to cease to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was
employed by him, or to carry on that business in the place where the employee
was so employed, or ·
The fact that
the requirements of that business for employees to carry out work of a
particular kind or for employees to carry out work of a particular kind in
the place where the employee was employed have ceased or diminished or are
expected to cease or diminish. ‘Redundancy’ falls into
several broad categories including: ·
Disappearing
business ·
Disappearing
workplace ·
Disappearing job ·
Requirements of
the workplace ·
The need for
fewer employees to do the same amount of work ·
Reduced output ·
Change in the
nature of the job. For example, the
following situations are quite likely to be real redundancies: ·
The organisation
wishes to close a particular branch or office. ·
The organisation
stops producing a particular product, or providing a particular service ·
The
organisation's business has shrunk. ·
The organisation
no longer requires employee's to carry out a particular job or function. On the other hand the
following situations are unlikely to be a real redundancy situation: ·
The organisation
wants to use this as an excuse to remove an employee who is not performing adequately
in the role or does not fit in for whatever reason. ·
The organisation
wants to replace an employee with someone on a lower rate of pay. Remember,
even if there is a real redundancy situation, it is essential that the
employer follow a fair redundancy procedure. Frankly, a lot of employers get
this process wrong and end up with claims that could otherwise have been
avoided if a little more care had been taken at the outset. Please see also: What
is a fair redundancy procedure? Last
reviewed: July 2010 |
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Employment
Solicitor Reculver Solicitors Tel
0207 324 6271 Regulated
by the Solicitors Regulation Authority ©
Reculver Solicitors. 2005- |
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