What is redundancy?

It sounds like a daft question.  But it makes a difference to pay-outs so bear with me.

Redundancy is when an employment contract is terminated because:

• the job that you are doing is no longer needed in the organisation.  
• there are plans to stop the business you were employed to do in your workplace 
• the work that you do is either finished or coming to an end.

Employers cannot re-employ someone else to do the job that you were made redundant from.  If they do, this means you were dismissed unfairly rather than made redundant.  

Someone who is made redundant is entitled to a redundancy payment.

Redundancy is NOT the same as "lay-off" or "short term working".


A lay-off

This is where an employer can temporarily not provide the employee with work.  This is usually only possible if it is set out if the employee's work contract or by collective agreement (made between trade union and employer).  This also sometimes happens if the employer can prove it is accepted practice.

Someone who is laid off temporarily, can be re-employed.  

Someone who had been laid off is entitled for payments (maximum payment of 5 days in any 3 month period) if the lay-off runs for: -

• 4 consecutive weeks or longer
• a series of 6 or more weeks (of which no more than 3 were consecutive), within a 13 week period.

Short-term working

This is where your pay is less than half a week's pay because they either have no paid work for a number of working days in a week or work a reduced number of hours for a number of working days in a week.

As with layoffs, this can only happen if it is set out if the employee's work contract or by collective agreement (made between trade union and employer).  This also sometimes happens if the employer can prove it is accepted practice.    Payments are the same as with lay-offs.

If you asked for short term working without it being in your contract, this is a breach of contract.  Take legal advice - you will be entitled to take this to an employment tribunal.

Dismissal

This is another method for an employer to terminate a worker's contract.  But fortunately for us, the employers do not have it all their own way.  The distinction between redundancy and dismissal is important so I'll elaborate on a different blog.