For employees who remain on Furlough Leave, it can be an anxious wait to hear whether there is a job for you to return to when the Job Retention Scheme comes to an end. However, whilst you may have been on Furlough Leave this does not mean you should automatically be selected for redundancy. Read on to learn more.
Redundancy and the end of Furlough Leave
For all employees’ who have sufficient qualifying service, they are entitled not to be unfairly dismissed. Redundancy is a potentially fair reason for dismissal but even when a dismissal is genuinely on the grounds of redundancy, whether it is fair or unfair to dismiss for that reason will depend on the general test of fairness.
Over the last few weeks I have received numerous calls from employees’ who feel they have been automatically selected for redundancy because they were placed on Furlough Leave. Consequentially, however, their comparable employees who were not placed on Furlough Leave have not been identified as the employee selected for redundancy. It is my view that this could, in certain circumstances, represent a predetermined decision to select that employee for redundancy and subsequently mean any redundancy procedure which has been applied by the employer, to be a sham.
Redundancy Procedure
For a redundancy procedure to be fair, I would expect the employer to follow the steps below:-
- The employer identifies a pool of employees for selection.
- The employer communicates to the employees who have been identified as ‘at risk’ of redundancy.
- The employer consults with the ‘at risk’ employees.
- The employer applies an objective selection criteria to score those employees.
- There is consideration made on whether there are any suitable alternative positions so as to avoid the employees’ redundancy.
If you realise that only the employees’ who were placed on Furlough Leave have been selected for redundancy, it could mean that you have a claim for Unfair Dismissal. Additionally, if you have been shielding a loved one or shielding due to a medical condition of your own, that such a dismissal is also Discriminatory.
Lincs Law Employment Solicitors Can Help
If you are going through a redundancy process and are worried about being made redundant, please call us on 01522 440512 for a free initial consultation. If you would like more information about redundancy procedures, please visit our website at https://lincslaw.co.uk/services/employees/resignation-dismissal-and-redundancy/redundancy/
If you have been made redundant and your employer’s decision was unfair, you may have an Employment Tribunal claim. Click on the link to take our online questionnaire and find out: https://lincslaw.co.uk/have-you-been-made-redundant-do-you-have-an-unfair-dismissal-claim/
Lucy Stones,
Specialist Employment Law Solicitor
Tags: Furlough Leave job retention scheme Lincs Law redundancy redundancy procedure specialist employment solicitor unfair dismissal