Redundancy Law

As a result of the recession and many people losing their jobs redundancy law is an area of law which has attracted much attention recently. Redundancy law comes from both statutory legislation and case law. All employers and employees affected should get advice on redundancy from an employment solicitor.

Redundancy is defined in the Employment Rights Act 1996 (referred to as ‘the Act’ in this document). The Act states that redundancy arises in any of the following situations:  

When the business that the employee worked in ceases to exist

• When the place where the employee worked in has shut down
• When there is no longer a requirement for the employer’s business to carry out work of the kind the employee was employed to do
• When there is no longer a requirement for the employer’s business to carry out work of the kind the employee was employed to do, in the place where the employee was employed

Redundancy law gives workers the right to a statutory redundancy payment if they meet certain qualifying conditions. These conditions can be summarised as follows:

• The worker claiming a redundancy payment must be an employee 
• They must have been employed for a continuous period of two years
• The employee must have been dismissed by their employer
• The end of the employee’s employment must be for one of the redundancy reasons or situations (listed above)

In addition to the statutory redundancy payment available under redundancy law, an employee’s contract of employment may entitle them to an enhanced redundancy payment.

If you would like to obtain legal advice on redundancy law, Contact Law can put you in touch with a local specialist Employment Solicitor free of charge. So, if you have any questions or would like our help in finding local Employment Solicitors please call us on 0800 1777 162 or complete the web-form above.