Are you planning on making a role redundant? Well, if you need to know how to make a position redundant this blog is for you.
Redundancy can be tricky to navigate especially for organisations that have not undertaken the process before. There are certain legal requirements and obligations of an employer that if not complied with, can leave an organisation open to having a legal claim brought against them, such as an unfair dismissal claim, where an employee could claim up to 26 weeks of their annual wage.
What is redundancy?
Redundancy comes about when a business no longer needs an employee’s role to be done by anyone within the organisation.
Redundancy can occur for a few reasons including organisational restructuring, business slowing down or relocating, or new technology being introduced that makes a role unnecessary.
Before making a role redundant, a business may consider whether it is necessary and whether the redundancy would be considered genuine, to ensure it is a fair and legally compliant process.
Is the redundancy necessary?
A business may consider whether redundancy is necessary by exploring all viable options first, including transferring, retraining, or redeploying employees.
After all possible avenues have been explored and it is determined that redundancy is the most feasible option, a business ideally should develop fair and objective criteria for selecting which roles to make redundant. If the selection criteria is discriminatory in nature it could leave a business open to a claim.
Is the redundancy genuine?
One of the steps in how to make a position redundant is to consider if it will be a genuine redundancy. It is genuine when the role is no longer needed to be performed by anyone within an organisation and the employer has followed consultation requirements outlined within relevant industrial instruments (e.g. Awards and Enterprise Agreement).
Some circumstances where a redundancy is not considered genuine:
- Employer has not followed the consultation process outlined within the relevant industrial instrument;
- Still requires the role to be performed by someone;
- Employer could have reasonably given the employee another role within the business or associated entity.
Hence, it is important for a business to follow all necessary steps to ensure the redundancy is genuine and have complied with all legal requirements to protect the organisation from any legal actions being brought against it by an employee.
If you are considering how to make a position redundant, it would be beneficial to speak with a HR specialist like Industryus HR first to ensure the redundancy process is legally sound.
Industryus HR can support you with the correct redundancy documentation and process advice to ensure your Fair Work obligations are met.
Contact us today to book a free 30-minute consultation. 07 5655 4047.
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