?So you weren’t fired, you were made redundant??

For the average member of the public (if such a thing exists), being made redundant isn’t the same as being dismissed or sacked but, legally speaking, it’s one and the same.

Some people think that they can’t do anything about it if they’ve been made redundant and paid a Statutory Redundancy Payment ? er ? no.

For the purposes of the Employment Rights Act 1996 which governs unfair dismissal and the opportunity to pursue a claim to an Employment Tribunal, a redundancy is a dismissal like any other and can be contested if it was unfair, providing that you have sufficient length of service with your ex-employer (two years at present).

Rated alongside moving house and divorce, redundancy can be the most stressful event in someone’s life and it is more so if there is a feeling on injustice in the way it was done.

A redundancy has to be done in accordance with the law and you may be able to make a claim if your employer has done it unfairly.

Employers often believe that redundancies can be made without bothering too much about consultation and procedure especially if it is a single redundancy or under 20 people being made redundant ? they are wrong.

To make a redundancy fair, there has to be consultation with the individual employee(s) affected and this must include an explanation as to why it is proposed to make you redundant and why and how you are to be or have been selected.

If you feel you have been picked on unfairly and that others should have been nominated before you then you have a right to claim if you have been with your employer long enough.

An employer must be able to justify his/her selection and ensure that it is objectively fair? together with considering all possible alternatives before showing you the door. There may be other jobs available or a possibility to reduce hours or job share, for example.

An employer would be foolish to simply pick on someone because he feels like it as there may be issues of sex,race,age or disability discrimination to consider.

The Pinnacle Partnership has recently successfully represented two claimants from a major UK company in London Central Employment Tribunals who were made redundant without any warning whatsoever, having been presented with a letter announcing the fact to them and marched off the premises. Both secured substantial compensation on the morning of the hearing.

So, in short, employers should take employment legal advice if they are thinking of making staff redundant and if you are one of the thousands of people in the UK made redundant every year, contact us now if you think you have been unfairly made redundant.

Contact us now using our contact form or call us on 0870 787 3688 now.

Calculate your entitlement to Statutory Redundancy Pay using this useful link

See our redundancy page here for more information about redundancy including employer’s responsibilities and employee’s rights