Employees have a number of rights when facing redundancy. These rights may be statutory or contractual, individual or collective. Some rights will require a qualifying period (i.e. the need to have been employed for a certain length of time), whilst others will not. If you’re in a redundancy situation, read on for more information about your general rights.
An Employee’s Rights In A Redundancy Situation
1. Employees who have been employed for two years or more have the right not to be unfairly dismissed. Your employer must act reasonably in relation to the redundancy. In practice this means:
- Warning and consulting with you (or your representatives) about the proposed redundancy;
- Adopting a fair basis on which to select for redundancy. Your employer should identify an appropriate pool of employees from which to select potentially redundant employees and select against proper criteria;
- Considering suitable alternative employment. Your employer must look for and, if it is available, offer you suitable alternative employment within the business.
2. Irrespective of your length of service, if you are selected for redundancy on certain prescribed grounds, your dismissal will be automatically unfair. There are a number of prescribed grounds but these include selection for health and safety reasons (for example, if you had brought to your employer’s attention matters that were harmful or potentially harmful to health and safety), selection because you had asserted a statutory right or selection because you had made an application for flexible working.
3. If you are selected for redundancy due to a protected characteristic (i.e. sex, maternity or pregnancy, marital status or civil partnership, age, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, or religion or belief) you have the right to bring a claim for discrimination.
4. If you are selected on grounds of your fixed-term or part-time status, you have the right to bring a claim for less favourable treatment.
5. If you are on maternity leave (or adoption or shared parental leave), you have an automatic right to be offered any suitable vacancies.
6. In a ‘collective redundancy situation’ (where 20 or more employees are being made redundant over a period of 90 days or less), your employer has a specific duty under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 to inform and consult.
7. If you have two years’ or more qualifying service you have the right to time off to look for work or arrange training.
8. You have the right to receive contractual notice, subject to statutory minimum notice. If your contract so provides, you may receive payment in lieu of notice.
9. If you have two years’ or more qualifying service you have the right to receive a statutory redundancy payment. This is calculated using a set formula based upon your length of service, age and gross weekly wage (subject to statutory caps). You may also be entitled to a contractual redundancy payment, if there is an express or implied right to one and this may not be dependent on any qualifying length of service.
10. Sometimes an employer is insolvent, refuses to pay or cannot afford to pay. In that situation, you have the right to apply to the National Insurance Fund for unpaid employer’s payments. This includes your statutory redundancy payment and other sums which are due under your employment contract, for example holiday pay and statutory notice pay.
Lincs Law Employment Solicitors Can Help You
If you are an employee or employer seeking specific advice on redundancy please contact us for a free enquiry on 01522 440512 or via the web chat or contact form on our website at www.lincslaw.co.uk.
Kathryn Bolton
Associate
Specialist Employment Solicitor
Lincs Law Employment Solicitors
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