Redundancy whilst on sick leave

A friend of mine had to endure a life threatening illness.  He was given a 40% survival rate and in hospital for months.  Fortunately, he pulled through.  Nonetheless, our employer still included him on the redundancy round.  I was appalled to work out what little actual rights he actually had.

Basically, if you are on sick leave, you can still legitimately be at risk from redundancy.

• Consider the real reasons for redundancy.  If your post has been removed from the structure for valid business reasons, it is appropriate (See link for "what is redundancy?").
• You must be treated the same as any other member of staff or the employer will face a claim for unfair dismissal.
• The question the employer must therefore prove is - would you still have been made redundant if you had not been sick?  Failure to prove this is breaching the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (aka DDA) / Equality Act 2010.

Of course, you may be entitled to more money if you are made redundant (depending on your particular circumstances).  But be careful.

• Can you return to work?  If no, the employer is within their rights to consider dismissal on the grounds of capability (i.e. you are no longer capable of fulfilling your employment contract).
• Have you got a long term history of repeated sickness absences from work?  This is not a cause for redundancy but dismissal.  There will be some question whether it is fair dismissal or not.
• If you have been off sick for some time, you may no longer be entitled to sick pay.  Redundancy pay is calculated on your weekly pay.   If you are receiving £0 pay, then your redundancy pay is very little.