An employee has legal rights to protect him/herself when facing redundancy. The employer should always act according to the contract and your legal redundancy rights.
You should be consulted in order to be given a reasonable notice period when you are faced with redundancy.
If not, you can claim compensation for lack of consultation and unfair dismissal. This article provides information on your legal rights when facing redundancy.
Redundancy usually happens when an employee’s job disappears. It isn’t similar to being dismissed from the job for some other reason.
In case your employer wants to make your job role redundant for whatever reason, it should be done in an objective and fair manner. In fact, the employer should select the job roles to make redundant in a fair manner.
They should consult you before doing so. If you think you have been unfairly selected, you can appeal. In case you are still not satisfied with the manner in which the employer selected your job role to be redundant, you can take the employer to a tribunal.
There is a minimum notice period for this type of matter. In fact, the minimum notice period for redundancy is 12 weeks of notice in case you have been in employment for 12 years or more.
In case you are in employment between 01 months and 02 years, the notice period is one week.
In case you have been employed between 2 and 12 years, the employer should give you one week’s notice for each year of employment.
If the employer cannot give such notice, they can offer you a lump sum payment instead. This is known as pay in lieu of notice. Pay in lieu of notice will be taxed the same way as your ordinary pay.
The aforementioned article provides information on your legal rights when facing redundancy.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for information purposes only and should not be relied upon as formal legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article. Specific legal advice should be sort tailored to the individual circumstances in all cases.
David Philip Harris is a recognised employment solicitor with over 10 years of experience in advising employees and employers on employment law matters. He is a frequent contributor to BBC Radio Berkshire and People Management Magazine. David has represented individual and corporate clients in the employment tribunal as well as the High Court and County Court. David is a member of The Law Society and The Employment Lawyers Association (ELA UK). To contact David, visit the Contact Us page. For media enquiries: info@dphlegal.com.