How Do I Know That My Redundancy Is Legitimate?

The Employment Rights Act 1996 sets out the circumstances that meet the statutory (legal) definition of redundancy. 

Section 139(1) identifies three sets of circumstances. 

• The business is closing down.
• The workplace is closing (the site is closing or the site is being relocated).
• There is a diminished need in the business for employees to do work of a particular kind. 

The third type is where most issues arise. Sometimes it is not clear if there really is a diminished need or if the employer simply does not want a particular person to do that work. This might be for a discriminatory reason, such as that the employee is pregnant or a new parent, or that the employee has a disability and needs reasonable adjustments, which the employer finds is a nuisance.