Redundancy is a form of being dismissed from a job and principally arises not because of any behaviour or inadequacy on the part of the employee (although these may be factors which employers will wish to take into consideration) but because of a business driven reason. Redundancy is potentially a fair reason for dismissal, although if not handled correctly, can become a basis for a claim of unfair dismissal. Most employees affected by redundancy become eligible to some form of payment.

Businesses today work in an environment that requires far more rapid change, the corollary of which is that laying off staff, or making them redundant, is often the only route forward. Redundancy is never a pleasant option, either for the employer or the staff being made redundant. However it is one which can, and must be, managed so as to cause the least possible problems to everyone.

Redundancy occurs where you are dismissed from your employment and the reason for that dismissal is not directly related to your ability or conduct but to factors affecting the business and its need for the services of employees generally or you in particular. Those who have been made redundant have certain rights - both in how they are treated leading up to dismissal and as to the payment of money to them as a result of that dismissal.

In the same way that making a will can be seen as tempting fate, so too, for many employers, can setting up a redundancy procedure be seen as tempting problems in the work place. However, this is not a prudent approach to take and, from an employment relations perspective, employers would be well advised to give serious thought to putting procedures in place well before the need for them ever arises. But what should such procedures contain and how should they operate in practice?

Whenever a redundancy arises, employers need to give condisderation to ways in which they can minimise the impact these will have upon the workforce. One of the ways this can be achieved is considering the possibility of other work - either within the business, in associated businesses or elsewhere. But what are the implications of this and what is the position if the employee is unsuited to or unhappy with the alternative work?

Employers should, wherever possible, seek to find an alternative way to deal with problems within their business other than through recourse to redundancy. This should start at a sufficiently early stage that strategies can be developed for managing the size and make-up of the workforceand ensuring that existing and future staffing needs are addressed.

An employee can be made redundant during pregnancy or maternity leave provided that the redundancy is not in any way related to the pregnancy. Selecting a woman for redundancy because she is pregnant would automatically be regarded as both unfair dismissal and discrimination.