Labour Research (July 2021)

Law Queries

Unfair redundancy

Following a redundancy selection exercise last month, I was selected for redundancy. But I’ve just discovered correspondence suggesting I was targeted for redundancy. Does this mean that my redundancy is automatically unfair?

There are several reasons for dismissing someone or selecting them for redundancy that are deemed “automatically unfair” for which a tribunal does not have to consider whether the employer has acted “reasonably” — and the claim automatically succeeds.

These automatically unfair reasons are generally characterised as asserting statutory rights or acting as an employee representative — for example, selecting someone because of their trade union activities, or because they have made a protected disclosure.

Targeting someone for redundancy is not in itself automatically unfair (unless the reason you were targeted is one of those protected categories). But you could have a claim of “ordinary” unfair dismissal on the basis that redundancy was not the real reason, but a manufactured one.

If your employer cannot show that it had a genuine reason to dismiss you — one of those listed in section 98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 — again the question of reasonableness will not come into it because they will not have met the first test of a fair dismissal which is a fair reason.


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