Changing An Employee's Duties: Is That A Redundancy?

In a dynamic and fast paced business environment, structuring the workforce to meet changing operational requirements is front of mind for most employers.

These requirements will often necessitate changes to an employee's duties to ensure the business has the right skills in place in a competitive market – for example, to keep pace with technological change. Employers may also look to fill a resourcing gap by utilising existing employees in a different role, rather than recruiting.

The ability to direct an employee to perform additional or different duties will depend on the specific employment instruments that are in place, and their terms. The starting point is to consider the contract of employment, job description and any applicable industrial instrument to confirm what the job involves, whether a variation is permitted, and in what circumstances.