What can i do if my role has been made redundant, but my work still exists?

What can I do if my role has been made redundant, but my work still exists? If you have found yourself asking this question, you are not alone. One of the most common concerns we hear from employees facing redundancy is “How can my role be redundant when my work is still being done?”

It is an understandable question. If your employer says your role is no longer required, but your duties are still being carried out by other individuals, it may seem that there has not been a genuine redundancy.

However, the position is not quite that straightforward. The fact that your work still exists does not necessarily mean that your redundancy is unfair.

Firstly, what is a redundancy?

Broadly, a redundancy situation can arise where the requirements of the business for employees to carry out work of a particular kind in the place they are employed has ceased or diminished, or is expected to do so.

Importantly, this does not mean that the work itself has to disappear. An employer may genuinely need fewer employees to carry out the same amount of work.

The focus is on the employer’s requirement for employees to carry out the work, rather than whether the work itself continues to exist.

A redundancy situation can also arise where the amount of work or the number of hours available is reduced, where work is outsourced to an external provider, or where work moves from one site to another.

What if my colleagues are doing my work?

There is no requirement for an employer to show that there is no longer any work to do.

For example, an employer may decide that it only needs four employees to carry out work previously formed by five. The remaining employees may absorb the duties of the employee who is made redundant.

The fact that those duties continue to be performed does not, by itself, mean that the redundancy is not genuine.

Equally, an employer does not necessarily have to show that the demand for the work has disappeared altogether. A reduction in funding, affordability or the employer’s overall requirement for employees can be sufficient to create a genuine redundancy situation.

Ultimately, whether there has been a diminished requirement for employees is a question of fact for an Employment Tribunal.

What if my employer hires someone else to do my job?

This may raise more significant questions, but it does not automatically mean that the redundancy was unfair.

If an employer recruits someone to carry out substantially the same role shortly after making an employee redundant, this may call into question whether there was a genuine redundancy situation or whether the dismissal was in fact for another reason, under the cloak of a purported redundancy.

However, the circumstances will matter. A new role may have different responsibilities, skills or requirements, even if some of the previous work remains.

A genuine redundancy does not automatically mean a fair dismissal

It is important to distinguish between whether there is a genuine redundancy situation and whether the dismissal is fair.

Even where there is a genuine reduction in the employer’s requirement for employees to carry out particular work, the employer must still follow a fair redundancy process. This will usually include meaningful consultation, fair and objective selection criteria and consideration of suitable alternative employment.

An employee may therefore have an unfair dismissal claim even where there was a genuine redundancy situation if the employer did not follow a fair process.

So, can I challenge my redundancy?

Potentially, yes. But the fact that your work still exists is not, by itself, enough to establish that your redundancy was unfair.

There are several factors to consider when assessing whether a redundancy has been handled fairly, and further information about redundancy rights and key considerations can be found on our Redundancies and Restructures page.

These considerations can be particularly important where an employee believes redundancy has been used as a reason to dismiss them when the real reason was performance, conduct, personality differences or another issue.

Need advice?

If you find yourself asking any of these questions about your own redundancy, or are unsure whether your employer’s process is fair, Patch Law can offer you employment law advice and help you understand your options. Please call us on 0117 290 0905 or complete our online enquiry form to discover more.