Redundancy Guide

Redundancy is a no-fault dismissal, but employees often feel targeted when employers fail to clearly explain the reasons, provide sufficient evidence, or treat people respectfully during the process.

By being transparent, evidence-driven, consultative, and empathetic, employers can transform redundancy from a painful experience into one that employees can accept with dignity. Doing redundancy better not only reduces the risk of disputes and grievances — it strengthens trust, preserves morale, and ensures that employees leave feeling respected rather than discarded.

Employers should explain, in plain English, the reasons why roles are proposed to be disestablished and  provide a clear narrative around what challenges the business is facing, what options were considered, and why the current proposal is the most viable. When employees can see the bigger picture, they are more likely to understand that the proposal is about the future of the business, not about them personally.

All employees should be provided with access financial data, customer trends, productivity measures, or strategic plans that support the proposal.

Redundancy proposals should never be presented as a fait accompli. Employers must ask for feedback, listen carefully, and consider alternatives. Employees are often closest to the operational realities and may suggest ideas the employer had not thought of, such as redeployment or process changes that avoid job losses. Even if the final decision is unchanged, employees will feel their voices were heard. When handled positively, redundancy does not need to leave employees bitter.