Redundancy Law

In these times of economic volatility it is most important to be abreast of the redundancy laws in place for the protection of employee rights and benefits. The common causes of redundancy are corporate merger, downsizing due to financial issues, relocation of the organization and changes in the method of production.

An employee is redundant when his services are no longer required by the employer and the employer doesn’t intend to replace this employee with another individual also the employer is unable to reassign this employee to another position or if the employee cannot accept the reassignment.

In case you are made redundant depending on your situation, statutory laws and contract of employment you may be eligible for a severance pay or redundancy employment payment. The employee may also eligible for other payments such as payment in lieu of leave (annual, long service etc). The severance pay scale may differ for large and small businesses which are defined as organization that employ a workforce of less than 15 people.

The employer may be required by law to serve the employee a notice of termination. The period of such a notice depends on the period of employment and may range from 1 weeks notice if the period of employment is for 1 year or less and can go up to 4 weeks if the period of employment is for 5 years or more. The employee may be entitled to one day in each week for the notice period to find alternate employment. In case an appropriate notice of termination is not served the employee may be entitled to receive payment in lieu of it.

In case of a redundancy the employer may be obligated to treat the employee fairly and in accordance with the laws. The employee should not be made redundant to merely to avoid the performance review process or to avoid an unfair dismissal claim from the employee.  If an employee feels that he has been unfairly retrenched, unfair dismissal or sacked they can make a claim for unfair dismissal.  It is advisable to consult a lawyer in any case of perceived unfair dismissal.  The lawyer will provide an objective review and also provide options if appropriate.  if he can prove that he has been unfairly dismissed. The various claims that may be put forth before the court of law could include:

• Unfair Selection for the purpose of Redundancy.

• Made redundant without proper consultation with the employee.

• Work performance cited as the reason for redundancy but the employee was not afforded the opportunity to respond to the employers concerns.

• In case of receipt of redundancy entitlement, the adequacy of the amount received can also be challenged.