If your employer has been through an internal process which has resulted in your redundancy dismissal, you will often be given the right to appeal that decision. At Lincs Law Employment Solicitors, we want to help and we set out in this post guidance to help you with your redundancy appeal. Alternatively, if you would like to discuss your situation, please call us on 01522 440512 for a free consultation.
What Is A Redundancy Dismissal?
A dismissal can occur in a number of ways; however, the most common type of dismissal in the present climate is your employer terminating the employment relationship on the grounds of redundancy.
If you have been dismissed for redundancy, it may or may not be a fair dismissal. There are three main redundancy situations which are:
- Closure of the business as a whole,
- Closure of the particular workplace where the employee was employed, and
- Reduction in the size of the workforce.
Even if the reason your employer has given is one of the above situations, it does not automatically mean your dismissal was fair. If you believe that the reason for your dismissal is unfair or untrue, or your employer did not follow the correct procedure, you should appeal their decision.
However, the Employment Tribunal have strict time limits for claims which run from your last day of employment (even if you have submitted an appeal). Please bear any time limit in mind as you go through the appeal process, further information about Employment Tribunal time limits can be found at www.lincslaw.co.uk/blog/time-limits-in-the-employment-tribunal/
What Should I Say In My Redundancy Appeal?
If you have been dismissed by reason of redundancy, you should receive a dismissal letter from your employer explaining the reason for the termination of your employment and your redundancy entitlements. Towards the end of your dismissal letter, there may be information regarding how to appeal your employer’s decision to make you redundant and it will give a timeframe for doing so. It may be that within your employer’s redundancy or appeal policy, they have a template or guidance of how appeals should be made. If so, you must follow your employer’s procedure.
If there is no information within your dismissal letter about appealing, it does not mean you cannot make a redundancy appeal. If there is no procedure in place, or it is silent on the form the redundancy appeal should take, then there is no set format and submitting a letter (or email) should suffice. You should send your letter of appeal as soon as possible to the person who dealt with your redundancy dismissal.
Your letter of appeal should outline why you disagree with your employer’s decision and why you believe your redundancy dismissal is unfair. For example, you may have concerns about how the redundancy process was carried out or regarding the suitability of the managers involved in the decision making. Your employer should have considered any vacancies within the business and identified whether there was any suitable alternative employment for you. If there is alternative employment, they must offer it to you, otherwise it could make your redundancy unfair. Alternatively, you may have been made redundant and then you see your employer is advertising your job. Whatever your objections to your redundancy dismissal, your redundancy appeal letter should be a comprehensive document raising the concerns you have. It is not enough to say you do not think it is fair, you need to explain why. Whatever you are unhappy with, you should include within the letter.
You should also inform your employer what your preferred outcome is in the redundancy appeal letter. The usual preferred outcome is to be reinstated, or offered a suitable alternative role and continue working for the company as if the dismissal never happened.
What Happens After Your Redundancy Appeal?
To an extent, this is down to your employer’s policy. However, the next steps should be that your redundancy appeal is referred to a manager who was not involved in your dismissal. If that is not possible, the person considering your appeal should be able to undertake an independent review.
The concerns raised in your redundancy appeal letter should be considered and reinvestigated by the person considering your appeal. Once they have reviewed the information, you should be invited to an appeal meeting.
The appeal meeting may just focus on the specific concerns you have raised, or it may completely rehear all evidence presented at the original hearing. After the hearing has been concluded, you should receive a written outcome of your appeal.
Your employer may uphold your appeal, which means that when they have considered your comments, they agree, or they now do not believe a dismissal was the appropriate sanction in the circumstances.
Your employer may dismiss your appeal, which means that when they have considered your comments, they do not agree and are still of the opinion that your employment should have been terminated.
It is possible for your employer to agree with some of your comments, but still dismiss your appeal. This may happen in situations where, for example, the correct redundancy procedure was not followed, however if it had been, the result would have been the same i.e. you would have been dismissed either way. So, your employer may agree there were some procedural errors, but state the dismissal was still the correct course of action.
What If I Do Not Appeal My Redundancy?
If you are unhappy with your employer’s decision to dismiss you, you should appeal. Appealing a decision is a good opportunity to have someone else look over the documents and consider any new information that may have come to light since the decision to dismiss you. It will also assist in any future Employment Tribunal claim as you will be able to demonstrate you raised your concerns about your redundancy dismissal during the employer’s internal procedure. However, it is not mandatory, there is no penalty if you do not put in an appeal against a redundancy dismissal.
Employment Tribunal Claim
If you choose not to appeal or if your redundancy appeal concludes and you still consider your dismissal was unfair, you can start the process of bringing an Employment Tribunal claim. You will need to start ACAS Early Conciliation, which is the first step to starting an Employment Tribunal Claim. If Early Conciliation does not resolve matters, then you could then issue a claim against your employer. More information about ACAS Early Conciliation is available at our blog https://lincslaw.co.uk/blog/acas-early-conciliation-what-is-it-all-about/
Lincs Law Employment Solicitors Can Help You
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/
Sally Hubbard
Managing Director, Specialist Employment Solicitor
Tags: Appeal Against Dismissal appeal redundancy dismissal appeal selection for redundancy elizabeth kirkham employee employment law employment tribunal employment tribunal claim redundancy redundancy redundancy dismissal selection for redundancy unfair dismissal
