Fairness is a legal test, not a feeling

A redundancy dismissal can be unfair even if the business reason for cutting headcount is entirely genuine. Employment law distinguishes between the reason for redundancy (which may be perfectly legitimate) and the process used to carry it out (which must also be fair). An employer who makes 20 roles redundant for solid commercial reasons can still face successful unfair dismissal claims if they failed to consult properly, used arbitrary selection criteria, or didn't consider redeployment. Both the reason and the process must pass the fairness test.

Genuine redundancy situation

The first question is whether there's a genuine redundancy situation. Under UK law, redundancy arises when the employer ceases or intends to cease the business, moves the business to a different location, or has a diminished need for employees to do work of a particular kind. If your role is being made redundant but someone with a very similar job title and function is hired shortly afterward, that's a red flag that the redundancy may not be genuine. Likewise, if your employer seems to be using redundancy as cover for dismissing you for performance reasons (without following a proper performance process), that's potentially unfair.

A fair selection pool

If your employer is selecting some but not all employees in similar roles for redundancy, they must define the pool of employees at risk fairly. Cherry-picking individuals for redundancy without any rational basis for why they were in the pool, rather than colleagues doing essentially the same work, can make the dismissal unfair. Once the pool is defined, the selection criteria used to choose who within the pool is made redundant must also be objective, applied consistently, and documented. Criteria like 'last in, first out' (length of service), skills assessments, performance records, and attendance records are commonly used. Criteria that could indirectly discriminate, for example, that disadvantage part-time workers, who are disproportionately women, must be carefully considered.

Meaningful consultation

Your employer must consult with you before the decision to make you redundant is finalised. That means telling you your role is at risk, explaining the reasons, sharing the selection criteria (and your scores if selection has happened), and genuinely listening to anything you have to say, including challenges to your scores or alternatives to redundancy. Consultation that happens after the decision has effectively been made, or that gives you no real opportunity to influence the outcome, is unlikely to meet the legal standard. For larger redundancy exercises (20 or more roles), there are additional collective consultation requirements.

Consideration of alternatives

Before finalising a redundancy, your employer should have explored whether there are any alternatives, reduced hours, redeployment to another role, voluntary redundancy, or temporary measures like short-time working. If a suitable alternative vacancy exists within the organisation, your employer must offer it to you. 'Suitable' is assessed against your skills, experience, pay, and location, an employer can't offer you a role several pay grades below yours and claim they've fulfilled their obligation. If you were not offered a role that existed and for which you were qualified, that's relevant to whether the dismissal was fair.

What to do if the process wasn't fair

You may believe your redundancy was procedurally unfair, whether through inadequate consultation, a flawed selection process, failure to consider alternatives, or a suspicion that redundancy is being used as a pretext. If so, you have options. You can raise a formal grievance before your employment ends. You can negotiate a more generous settlement by pointing to the process failures as creating legal risk for your employer. And if you've already been dismissed, you can bring an unfair dismissal claim to an employment tribunal (usually within three months minus one day of dismissal, after going through ACAS Early Conciliation). Speaking to an employment solicitor early is the best way to understand what your situation is actually worth.