If you have been laid off from your job, your employer needs to provide evidence that it is indeed a genuine redundancy and should follow a specific process.

 

Unfortunately, some employers have resorted to using redundancy to remove employees for a variety of reasons as it is an easier method of terminating an employee. 

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For a redundancy to be legitimate, your employer should be able to demonstrate the following: 

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• There is a genuine business reason to eliminate the role that is being made redundant. It should be clear why this specific role, as opposed to another, has been identified as redundant. 

• The employee should be given the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposal to make them redundant and suggest alternative measures or actions the employer could take to address the business reasons provided as justification for the redundancy. 

• The redundancy should be presented as a proposal or an idea, and not as a definitive decision that has already been made.

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Each situation is often different, and there could be other things that the employer needs to do to make the process fair.

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You could even claim redundancy where you're still employed; however, your roles were changed in your job without your agreement to a significant extent that your new role is very different and maybe less satisfying. This could be seen as a technical redundancy or lead you to consider resigning.

 

If you have resigned under these circumstances or are feeling pressured to leave, please see the information in the Constructive Dismissal section.