Redundancy Meeting

Redundancy is about the position, not simply removing a person. An employer can make genuine workplace changes, but an affected employee should ordinarily be given relevant information, a real opportunity to comment, and genuine consideration of that feedback before a final decision is made.

What you should expect when invited to consultation

Depending on the proposal, you should ordinarily be given enough information to understand:

1. What change is proposed and which positions may be affected.
2. Why the employer says the change is needed, including the business rationale.
3. Relevant information needed to understand and respond to the proposal, subject to lawful confidentiality limits.
4. The possible outcome, including whether your position may be disestablished.
5. Any proposed selection process where fewer roles will remain.
6. Redeployment or alternatives that may be available.
7. A reasonable period to provide feedback before the final decision.

What we look for before the meeting

• Predetermination: has the employer already decided before consultation?
• Disclosure: has enough relevant information been provided to allow meaningful feedback?
• Genuine business rationale: does the proposal actually remove or materially change the role?
• Selection: if people are competing for fewer roles, are the criteria relevant, transparent and supportable?
• Redeployment: have realistic alternatives and vacancies been identified?
• Feedback: will the employer genuinely consider alternatives rather than simply receive submissions and proceed anyway?

Do not waste the consultation response

“I disagree” is rarely enough. Good consultation feedback tests assumptions, identifies missing information, corrects facts, proposes alternatives and records what you want the employer to consider.

Depending on the proposal, useful feedback might address:

• Whether the claimed cost saving is actually achieved.
• Whether your work is really disappearing or merely being moved.
• Incorrect assumptions about your duties, workload or skills.
• Other vacancies or new roles you could perform.
• Reduced hours, changed duties, job sharing or other alternatives.
• Selection criteria and any factual errors in proposed scoring.
• Further information you need before your feedback can be complete.

Selection for fewer roles

Where a restructure removes several positions but creates fewer replacement roles, selection can become the central issue. Criteria should relate to the requirements of the new role, be applied consistently and be capable of explanation. A scoring system that is heavily subjective or seems designed to produce a pre-selected result deserves close scrutiny.

Redeployment

The fact that one position is disestablished does not always mean employment must end. We look for available roles, newly-created positions and realistic alternatives. The employer does not have to invent a job that does not exist, but obvious redeployment options should not simply be ignored.

What to do before the meeting

1. Read the proposal and mark every assumption you do not understand or agree with.
2. Request missing information that is relevant to your response.
3. Identify the actual work you perform and where it is proposed to go.
4. Identify practical alternatives and vacancies.
5. Prepare your feedback in writing so there is a clean record.
6. Tell us whether your objective is to keep the job, seek redeployment, improve redundancy terms, or challenge the proposal.

Already made redundant?

Once the final decision has been made, the focus shifts from influencing the proposal to assessing whether the redundancy was substantively genuine and whether the process was fair. Use our dedicated redundancy dismissal page for that analysis.

Frequently asked questions

Can the employer decide before consultation starts?

Consultation should occur while the proposal is genuinely capable of being influenced. If the decision is already final, the consultation may be defective.

Do I have a right to see the employer's financial information?

You should ordinarily receive relevant information needed to understand and respond to the proposal, subject to lawful reasons for withholding confidential information. What is relevant depends on the business case being relied on.

Should I apply for a new role in the restructure?

Sometimes yes, but the selection/redeployment strategy should be considered carefully. Applying does not necessarily mean you accept that the original role was genuinely redundant.

General information only — redundancy consultation depends on the proposal, disclosure and the employee's objectives.