Redundancy Processes

Redundancy is an emotive subject for many but is quite simply another method of termination of an employee’s employment. Therefore there are processes that must be strictly adhered to as required by section 4 of the Employment Relations Act and the good faith requirements.

The employer’s good faith obligations contained in section 4(1A)(c) of the Employment Relations Act require “…an employer who is proposing to make a decision that will, or is likely to, have an adverse effect on the continuation of employment of his…employee…to provide the employee…(i) access to information, relevant to the continuation of the employee’s employment, about the decision; and (ii) an opportunity to comment on the information to their employer before the decision is made.”

Plainly put, this means that an employer considering redundancy action needs to ensure that he has given the employee a copy of all information that he is relying on in making the decision.

The employee must be given a genuine opportunity to comment on the possibility of redundancy, and any feedback that the employee may give regarding how the redundancy may be avoided should be carefully considered by the employer. Finally, a decision can be made.

Amendments to the Act are coming in force as of the 1^st April 2011. The Act will now state more clearly the minimum requirements for employers proposing to make a decision that will affect their employee’s employment.

We are pleased to provide our clients with a step-by-step guide to redundancy processes, along with draft letters that can be adapted to suit.