Redundancy lawyer for employees

Redundancy is when an employer needs to reduce their workforce, often due to business changes, closures, or cost-cutting. While it’s a legitimate reason to end employment, it must be handled fairly and in line with the law. For employees, it can be an uncertain and stressful time, especially when it’s unclear whether the process has been fair, or if the redundancy is genuine. Speaking to a redundancy lawyer can help you understand your rights, challenge unfair treatment, and ensure you receive the correct notice, redundancy pay, and any other entitlements.

Have you been made redundant or are you currently in a redundancy consultation?

You have a number of rights in a redundancy situation.  For example, if you are dismissed by reason of redundancy, you may be entitled to a redundancy payment. Your redundancy payment could be the statutory redundancy amount or you may get an enhanced contractual sum. Additionally, you may be able to challenge the termination of your employment as an unfair dismissal.

If you have not yet been dismissed due to redundancy but you feel it is imminent and/or you are currently engaged in a redundancy consultation, you may be able to negotiate a Settlement Agreement. This is where you and your employer agree to the termination of your employment on the basis that your employer pays you compensation.

You will only have the right to claim ordinary unfair dismissal if your period of service is two years or more.  However, even if you have not accrued two years’ service, you still have the right not to be selected for redundancy on certain prescribed grounds which would make your dismissal automatically unfair.

Equally you must not be selected for redundancy due to any of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.  This would amount to discrimination. Examples of the protected grounds are age, race, maternity or pregnancy, sex, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation as.

Can I claim compensation?

Even if your dismissal is due to a genuine redundancy situation, whether it is fair or unfair will depend on whether your employer can show that it acted reasonably in dismissing you.

Your employer must warn and consult you, as an employee, or, at least, consult with employee representatives about the proposed redundancy.  This is known as a consultation.  Your dismissal will, therefore, be unfair unless your employer adopted a fair basis upon which it decided to select you for redundancy.

A fair procedure will include the identification of an appropriate pool of employees who are at risk of redundancy, consultation with the individuals in the pool and the application of objective criteria to those in the pool.  Your employer is also required to consider suitable alternative employment where appropriate.

If a redundancy dismissal is unfair, you will normally be entitled (in addition to notice and redundancy pay) to a compensatory award for your financial loss arising from the loss of your job.

Also, any redundancy selection criteria which are found to discriminate on any of the protected characteristics will generally result in a finding that you have suffered unlawful discrimination. This is in addition to your being unfairly dismissed. Compensation for discrimination may be awarded on the basis of injury to feelings. 

Call our Employment team on 0113 320 5000 and speak to a redundancy lawyer about making a claim for compensation. We can provide you with independent advice with regard to a Settlement Agreement.  In order for a Settlement Agreement to be legally binding, an employee must obtain independent legal advice on the terms of the Settlement Agreement.