REDUNDANCY

Redundancy arises where the requirement for an individual to carry out a particular employment function ceases. By definition it is seen as a fair reason for the termination of employment but often leads to claims by virtue of the fact that an employer has failed to undertake a fair consultation or met with the statutory requirements leading up to the dismissal. Provided an employee has had two years continuous employment with that particular employer, he/she will be entitled to a statutory redundancy payment calculated by reference to a prescribed formula. Being very much a process led procedure, as long as the normal steps involved in consultation are adhered to, an employer will be protected against claims for unfair dismissal provided that there was a genuine redundancy situation in existence. The situation is complicated further by the fact that redundancy consultation is a dismissal process and certain aspects of the statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedures will apply.