Redundancy and Reorganisation for Employees

Employees have a number of rights in a redundancy situation and both parties need to understand what these are.

To fall within the statutory definition of “redundancy” set out in section 139(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), an employee’s dismissal must be “wholly or mainly attributed to the employer”:

• Ceasing or intending to cease to carry on the business for the purpose for which the employee was employed by it (business closure);
• Ceasing or intending to cease to carry on that business in the place where the employee was so employed (workplace closure);
• Having a reduced requirement for employees to carry out work of a particular kind to do so at the place where the employee was employed to work (reduced requirement for employees).

Put another way it must genuinely be occurring because the employee’s work has disappeared or diminished.

In redundancy situations the employer must follow a fair procedure which involves notifying and consulting with the employee. It is recommended that employees who are faced with redundancy take legal advice about their right. Our experienced team would be pleased to provide that advice.