Redundancy

If you have never been made redundant you have been spared one of the most stressful situations you can find yourself in. It compares highly with the stress of experiencing divorce, bereavement and moving home. The actual word gives you a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach: I have been in both the position of being made redundant and part of having to make someone else redundant. Neither is very pleasant but being the one made redundant wins the race hands down.

So what exactly is redundancy? Redundancy is a form of dismissal and if you are made redundant you are entitled to statutory redundancy pay if you have worked for that employer for two years or more. You can also get contractual redundancy pay if your contract of employment allows it to be paid.

There are things which you can do to lessen the blow and to check that you are redundant and have been treated fairly.

In the first place it is best to find out if there are any ‘alternatives to redundancy’: Can any alternatives be considered to prevent having to make redundancies such as:

• Reduced hours (but beware of going below 16 if you are in receipt of Working Tax Credit).
• Job share (but beware of going below 16 if you are in receipt of Working Tax Credit).
• Reducing wages (not an ideal solution) but may help over a short period of time
• Redeployment - Are other jobs available which you would be capable of doing?

Is the redundancy real? - it can be used to hide other reasons for the dismissal, such as discrimination or a way of getting rid of someone. If you are genuinely redundant, but have been unfairly selected for redundancy you can take the matter to an employment tribunal and may be able to claim compensation as well as a redundancy payment.

If you are not genuinely redundant, you may have been unfairly dismissed and can take the matter to an employment tribunal and may be able to claim compensation.

The majority of employers only make redundancies when they have to but some could use it as a reason to get rid of staff. This is called sham redundancy and there are usually clues to whether this might be happening such as if you are the only one or one of a few made redundant in a large company or if there is no evidence that there is a reduction in the amount of work needed to be done and the company has taken on more employees.

Sometimes it is not always clear whether someone is redundant or not, even if your employer has told you that you are. It is really important that you get someone to advise you about this. If you are in a union they will be able to do so. If there is any doubt about whether you have been made redundant you need to seek help as you could possibly make a claim for unfair dismissal. Substantially more compensation must be paid for a successful unfair dismissal claim than the client would receive as a statutory redundancy payment visit the website www.acas.org.uk

An employer has a duty to consult with employees and discuss the possibility of alternative employment (if any). If they don’t do this then any resulting redundancy is likely to be unfair.

If you are made redundant whilst off sick, or are chosen for redundancy because of your sickness record you may be able to claim this was unfair dismissal and you might also be able to claim that it was unlawful disability discrimination. Similarly, if you have been selected for redundancy whilst on holiday you may have been unfairly dismissed. In this case you will need to obtain advice about whether this was a true redundancy and look at the redundancy selection criteria, whether they have been applied objectively and whether appropriate consultation took place.

The House of Lords has made the finding that selecting a woman for redundancy because she is pregnant will mean she is automatically unfairly dismissed.

How much you are entitled to and how this is calculated is too complicated to cover in an article and it is available in an easy to understand format on both the ACAS website and in the governments own website. Visit www.acas.org.uk or www.direct.gov.uk

Redundancy does sound all doom and gloom, but remember sometimes redundancy is just the push you might need to make massive changes in your life, such as starting up in business for yourself, changing career direction or returning to education. If I had not been made redundant (and also shortly afterwards became divorced) I would never have started on the path that ultimately led me to work at Scoop Aid and I would have missed out on the best 21 years of my working life!

Written by Jean Smith, Executive Officer, Scoop Aid Ltd.

Photo by Dyanna