Being Made Redundant

What Is Redundancy?

If you have to claim redundancy you need to have been dismissed from your job or at least told that you are going to be dismissed. Resignation is not a case for claiming redundancy, unless you have been forced to resign due to excessive pressure to take a worse job.

Reasons for Redundancy

• The business has gone bust and can no longer afford to operate.
• The business has had a reduction in a particular type of work.
• The business has moved to a different place.

As a result of one or more of the above conditions an employee may need to be dismissed or made redundant. This could be just through the sheer practical fact that there is no need for them because their work is no longer available. It may not even exist anymore because the workplace has closed down. This could be due to the fact that failure of the business means the employer has had to change the nature of his business. Therefore the original roles of employment have changed and been replaced by other processes.

Unfair Dismissal

In some situations the reasons that a person is made redundant may not be genuine reasons. This is therefore known as unfair dismissal and occurs if the employee has been dismissed due to discrimination on the grounds of race or sex. Sometimes the employer may claim that an employee has been made redundant when in actual fact they have been unfairly dismissed so that they do not have to pay compensation. If you are a victim of unfair dismissal you may be entitled to compensation for discrimination as well as redundancy.

Voluntary Redundancy

Sometimes an employer may ask his employees if they want to be made redundant otherwise he will have to choose which person is made redundant. Voluntary redundancy is equivalent to a dismissal and all the same rules apply to a normal redundancy.

Redundancy Procedures

The process of choosing employees for redundancy is a set one. First of all the employer has to state in writing why he is making you redundant. Then he must give you the option to discuss it and appeal against his decision. If these procedures are not followed this makes the redundancy into an unfair dismissal. Another part of the procedures is choosing candidates for dismissal; unfair selection is also cause for unfair dismissal.

Redundancy Pay

When a person is made redundant they are entitled to redundancy pay under certain circumstances. This is statutory payment from the employer and is only available to you if you are:

• Under 65 years of age.
• Have worked with the company for at least two years.

If you do not qualify for redundancy you need to check your contract to see if there is a clause that states you can get some kind of compensation if you are made redundant.

How Much Pay Do You Get?

The amount of a statutory redundancy pay that you can receive depends on your age, your weekly pay and how long you have worked for your employer. The method by which payments are worked out can be complicated and obviously varies from employee to employee. You can expect your employer and his accountancy department to help you with this.

For further advice about work related issues you may wish to contact an advice organisation such as the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.