How To Handle and Dismiss Role Redundancies in Your Company

Role redundancy happens when you no longer need a particular role in your business, but an employee currently fills it. That can be a challenging situation, especially because no one wants to be in this position.

Whether you’re delivering or receiving the news, handling this well is a must. In addition, the support of an experienced advisor may also be necessary.

You need to be aware that there are numerous risks to making an employee redundant. So it’s important to be sure that you understand the process and the risks. An unfair dismissal application cannot be made if the case was not a genuine redundancy.

When Is a Dismissal a Case of Genuine Redundancy?

A dismissal is tagged under genuine redundancy when it meets all the following criteria:

1. When the employer no longer needs to perform a position filled by someone because of operational changes to the enterprise
2. When the employer has complied with any obligation implemented by an applicable enterprise agreement to consult about the role redundancy
3. When the circumstances to redeploy the person within the employer’s enterprise or an associated entity is unreasonable.

What Does It Mean When the Role Is No Longer Needed To Be Filled?

When a role is no longer needed, the employee made redundant will not be replaced with anyone doing the same responsibilities in the same role. That means the role may no longer be required because of the business’ reorganisation or redistribution of duties.

So the employee no longer has a function or duty to perform. It is fine to split up the role and re-allocate it among employees as long as they are already employed or outsourced from another.

How To Dismiss an Employee Who’s Filing a Case of Genuine Redundancy

If an employee has been terminated but not proven to be a case of genuine redundancy, the employee can claim a successful unfair dismissal. A general protection claim could be filed if the termination was motivated by another reason, such as an HR complaint or exercising another workplace right. 

What To Do During the Dismissal

It’s imperative that you do the dismissal right after you’ve proven that it is a case of genuine redundancy. Here are what you need to do:

• Get advice about the process to ensure it’s right
• Take your time and don’t rush the dismissal process
• Take a good look at your resourcing needs
• Form a clear business case as to the reason why the role is redundant
• Look for redeployment options
• Consult thoroughly
• Put everything formally in writing

What Not To Do During the Dismissal

Here are what you should avoid during the dismissal process:

• Using redundancy to terminate a troublesome employee
• Rushing through the process
• Neglecting consultation and conversations about the dismissal

Conclusion

A case of genuine redundancy can be filed, but it has to be done right. Ensure that you are thorough with the process and that the employee affected understands the need for dismissal. If you are a victim of wrongful dismissal because of redundancy, it’s best to get legal help.

Workclaims Australia is a team of employment lawyers in Perth dealing with a range of national workplace relations issues. We offer legal advice, representing parties at all stages of the complaint process from raising a claim, mediation, hearing, tribunal and going to court. 

If you need a lawyer for wrongful dismissal, Workclaims Australia is here to assist! Get in touch with us.