UK - Northern Ireland | Redundancy: have you been treated fairly?

Colin Foote, Director - Employment & Equality Law

There are rules and regulations that must befollowed by an employer when making one or more people redundant and wherethese rules have not been followed, you may find that you have not been treatedfairly. It is important to remember that the rules differ depending on thenumber of people being made redundant.

You can be classed as being made redundant in anumber of different circumstances and some of these are:

• Your employer is insolvent
• The business is failing
• Your skills are not needed
• The business is restructuring and your job is being completed by others
• New systems or technologies mean your job is not needed
• The business is moving your job to another area
• The business has been bought out and taken over

Whilst these are all valid reasons for redundancy,they have to be applied in a fair way and it is always worth checking with asolicitor whether the reason you have been given for redundancy is fair.

Once your employer has told you that you are atrisk of redundancy, they must then tell you how they will select people forredundancy and consult with you on the issue.

Redundancy selection has to be done using a fairmethod, applied to everyone with no discrimination on any grounds. Yourdisciplinary record, absence and work performance will be taken into accountbut your religious beliefs, gender or age cannot.

If you have been selected for redundancy unfairly,you may have a claim against your employer. You should speak to a specialistemployment law solicitor as you could claim compensation for unfair dismissaland redundancy pay also. To qualify for redundancy pay you have to have workedfor your employer for at least two years.

Your employer has to tell you about theredundancies and where fewer than 20 people are being made redundant, they musthold a consultation about the redundancies. A business making more than 20people redundant, known as a collective redundancy, has to consult individuallyas well as consulting any Trade Union, or if there isn’t one, employeerepresentatives prior to making any redundancies.

In any of these circumstances, where this does notoccur, you may have a claim for unfair dismissal. If you are not sure about anyaspect of the redundancy process and whether it has been fair, you should speakwith a specialist solicitor who can help.

For moreinformation about this article or any aspect of our employment and equality lawsolutions, give Colin Foote a call on 0845 834 0840