Some employers create a false redundancy situation to try to get away with an unjustified dismissal. Sometimes there are genuine redundancies happening at a work place, but this does not mean a particular redundancy is genuine as some employers will take advantage by trying to get rid of a particular person for other reasons.

Even if a redundancy is more or less genuine, the employer usually still has to fulfil procedural and substantive requirements or it can become an unjustified dismissal.

If you are uncertain about the way your redundancy is being handled we can quickly assess and provide feedback on your situation and your rights. 

A woman was sick and unable to respond to the employer's four day deadline to discuss the merger of two jobs into one. The employer wouldn't let the sick employee have a time extension to have her say. The woman was made redundant. failing to allow her a time extension meant that the process was unfair. She was awarded $6,000. 

Redundancies happen but they need to be fair. If affected employees are not given enough time to respond the redundancy is probably unfair and you will have a personal grievance.

Sadly, today brought the news that 200 staff from the failed building company, Mainzeal, have been made redundant. In situations like these where there is obvious financial distress and where urgent action needs to be taken to preserve what’s left of the business, it is possible for the employer to make people redundant without going through the usual type of consultation and for the decision making timeframe to be severely shortened. Even though the overall redundancy process in these types of situations demands urgency, this does not mean that the employee has no rights. Employees are still entitled to be treated fairly and to be made redundant for genuine reasons, so, if for example, an employee is singled out for redundancy because they are female, Christian or Maori then that is still illegal. Nor can an overall justifiable redundancy be used to disguise ulterior motives that may apply to some of those selected for redundancy. If you are faced with a mass redundancy situation but you feel uneasy about how you have been treated it is a good idea to get advice.