We are a firm of specialist employment solicitors that operates exclusively in all areas of employment disputes including UK redundancy law. We are able to pursue or negotiate a claim on your behalf and can provide you with representation anywhere in the United Kingdom. We are regulated by the Law Society and we combine unrivalled experience and expertise.
Redundancy is potentially a fair dismissal, however, when an employee is dismissed for this reason, there are cases where the employee may still have a case for unfair dismissal. Whether or not the employee has been unfairly dismissed will be dependant on the facts of each individuals case.
In accordance with the Employment Rights Act 1996 “…..an employee shall be taken to have dismissed by reason of redundancy if the dismissal is attributable wholly or mainly to;-
- the fact that his employer has ceased, or intends to cease:-
- to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed by him
or
- to carry on that business in the place where the employee was so employed
or
- the fact that the requirements of that business:-
- for employees to carry out work of a particular kind have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish
or
- for employers to carry out work of a particular kind in the place where the employee was employed by the employer have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish.
For an employee to qualify for a statutory payment, certain criteria have to be met.
- The ‘worker’ must be an employee. He or she cannot be self-employed.
- The employee must have accrued at least 2 years continuity of employment. For the present time and until the age discrimination legislation comes into force the tribunal must disregard any employment before the employees 18th birthday.
- An employee must be under 65 years old. Similarly, this criteria is likely to abolished with the new age discrimination legislation.
Tribunals are not interested in involving themselves with the details of the employee’s business decisions and their reasons for making employees redundant. The Tribunal has to determine whether or not a dismissal was a fair one.
Circumstances can arise where a genuine redundancy situation exists, however, a dismissal can still be unfair. The main points the tribunal would be asked to consider, are whether in the circumstances (including the size and administrative resources of the employers undertaking) the employer acted reasonably or unreasonably in treating it as a sufficient reason for dismissing the employee, and the fairness of such a decision will determined in accordance with equity and the merits of the case (ERA 1996 sections 98 (4)).
In determining whether or not an employer has acted fairly the tribunal will take into account:-
- Whether the employer has given as much notice as possible to the employee or if applicable, to the relevant unions, of the possibility of redundancies.
- What selection criteria has been adopted by the employer and whether it has been applied fairly to all the candidates who have been selected. When choosing the selection criteria, the employer may consider the employees attendance record, efficiency, experience and length of service as well as other skill sets depending on the employers working environment.
- Whether the employer has considered the possibility of alternative employment within the employers organisation, before dismissing the employee.
We offer an initial free consultation on UK redundancy law. If after talking to us you decide not to take matters further you are under no obligation to do so and you will not be charged for our initial advice session. If you would like a free assessment of the merits of your case without further obligation, please contact us on 020 7408 1338.
