How to Make a Role Redundant Fairly (An HR Guide)
Redundancy is one of the few HR processes where a fair decision and an unfair one can look almost identical from the outside. The difference is entirely in how it was done. I have seen teams get the business case right and still end up with a claim, simply because they rushed the process or picked the person before they picked the criteria. Here is how to do it properly, and humanely.
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It is about the role, not the person
This is the line that decides everything. A genuine redundancy is a role disappearing, not a convenient way to remove someone you would rather not manage. The moment it becomes about the person, you have left redundancy and entered a dismissal wearing the wrong label, and that is where claims come from. Before anything else, be honest with yourself about which one this actually is.
→ If you started with a name instead of a role, stop. This is not redundancy.
Start with a real business case
A fair process rests on a genuine reason: the work has reduced, the function is changing, or the role is no longer needed. Write down why, in plain terms, before you go further. If you could not explain the business logic to a stranger without mentioning the individual, you do not yet have a redundancy. You have a decision looking for a justification.
Selection is where it goes wrong
If more than one person does similar work, you cannot simply choose. You need objective, consistent selection criteria applied the same way to everyone in the pool, and you need to keep the scoring. Watch those criteria closely. Measures that look neutral, like recent absence or flexibility on hours, can quietly disadvantage people who are pregnant, disabled, or carrying caring responsibilities, and that turns a cost saving into a discrimination claim. Rules and entitlements also vary a great deal between countries, so check the law where the person actually works, or run it through the Labor Law AI on Eleviq, before you act.
→ Pick the criteria before you look at the people. Never the other way around.
Consult for real, not as a formality
Consultation is not telling someone a decision that is already final. Done properly, it is a genuine conversation while the outcome is still open: explaining the situation, listening to their view, and considering alternatives they raise. People can tell the difference between being consulted and being processed, and so can a tribunal. Rushing this stage is the fastest way to make a sound decision look like a sham.
Look hard for alternatives
Before exit, the honest question is whether there is anywhere else this person could go. An open role, a redeployment, a different team. You will not always find one, but you have to genuinely look and be able to show that you did. Treating redundancy as the first option rather than the last is both a legal risk and a failure of basic respect.
The bottom line
Redundancy will never feel good, and it should not. What you can control is whether it is genuine, fair, well documented, and handled with dignity. Keep it about the role. Build a real business case. Pick the criteria before the people. Consult for real and look hard for alternatives. Do that, and you can stand behind the decision. Skip it, and a justified redundancy can still cost you everything an unfair dismissal would.
The point: Real reason, objective selection, genuine consultation, dignity throughout.
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