Unfair Redundancy

Unfair redundancy claims arise when an employer's redundancy process is unfair, even though redundancy itself may be a potentially fair reason for dismissal. The Employment Rights Act 1996 requires employers to follow a fair procedure when making redundancies.

A fair redundancy process requires: a genuine business reason for the redundancy, meaningful consultation with affected employees (and trade unions if 20+ employees are at risk), fair and objective selection criteria, consideration of suitable alternative employment, and proper notice and redundancy pay.

Common grounds for unfair redundancy include: sham redundancy (the role was not genuinely redundant — it was filled by someone else), unfair selection criteria (subjective, discriminatory, or not properly applied), failure to consult, failure to consider alternative roles, and selection for redundancy due to a protected characteristic (pregnancy, disability, etc.).

Collective redundancy (20+ employees within 90 days) triggers additional obligations under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, including 30 or 45 days of consultation with employee representatives. Failure to collectively consult can result in a protective award of up to 90 days' pay per employee.

Compensation includes a basic award (based on age, length of service, and weekly pay), compensatory award (capped at the lower of 52 weeks' pay or £115,115 for ordinary unfair dismissal), and additional awards if discrimination was involved (uncapped). The time limit is 3 months less 1 day from the effective date of termination.