After going through a full and sound restructure process, you may have to make some roles redundant. Although redundancy is about roles, not people, people are affected. It can be a difficult and upsetting process. Redundancy is generally considered to be a situation where an employee\u2019s position is surplus to the employer\u2019s commercial needs. It is important to remember that it is the position that is surplus, not the employee. If a \u201credundant\u201d person is replaced by someone else in the same position, the redundancy is very unlikely to be justifiable.<\/p>\n
Genuine Redundancy:<\/strong><\/p>\n Employers are entitled to make commercial decisions about their business and these decisions may lead to positions held by Employees becoming unneeded. Examples of these types of decisions are: A genuine redundancy is determined in relation to the position and not the Employee and will usually be genuine if made for valid commercial reasons. An Employer faced with the prospect of dismissing an Employee for reasons of redundancy must be genuine in the decision which gives rise to the redundancy and act in good faith by:<\/p>\n \u2022 Being fair, reasonable, and sensitive to the employee; To make sure you\u2019re being fair, following best practice and doing everything you\u2019re legally required to follow these steps and guidelines HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\u2022 an election to become more efficient by automating departments;
\n\u2022 abandoning unprofitable activities;
\n\u2022 re-organising the structure of the business;
\n\u2022 re-locating a business;
\n\u2022 implementing cost-saving mechanisms;
\n\u2022 outsourcing work to independent contractors.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Abiding by the agreement entered into between the employer and employee;
\n\u2022 Consulting with the employee prior to the decision to render an Employee redundant being made;
\n\u2022 Providing all information to the Employee to enable the Employee to contribute meaningfully during the consultation process;
\n\u2022 Providing further assistance to the employee if redundancy is the ultimate outcome of the process.<\/p>\n