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Redundancy is not the same as getting the sack. The key difference is that if you are dismissed, you lose your job, but when you are made redundant the job itself disappears.

Redundancy happens when an employer needs to reduce their workforce. This means that it is not a redundancy if your employer immediately takes on somebody else to do your job. This would then become a dismissal, and you could well have a case against your employer even if they have told you that you are redundant.

This does not normally stop your employer taking on people to do a different job in your workplace, or people doing your job but in a different workplace.

If your contract of employment says you could be moved to a different location or given a different job then you should have been offered these jobs before they were filled with new staff. If you think you might be in this situation, then you should take further advice.

Even if an existing member of staff is given your job, you can still be made redundant as long as there is an overall loss of jobs. An employer can normally reshuffle their workforce after making some people redundant. They do not have to get rid of the people currently doing the jobs that will disappear, as long as they are genuinely reducing the size of the workforce.

If you think you may not be legally redundant, but have been dismissed instead, then you should take advice.

If the redundancies are genuine, there are still rules that your employer must follow.

If you think you are being sacked, or made redundant, talk to your local union rep. If you are not in a union, join UNISON today.

From:
Facing Redundancy: A small and easy to read TUC guide to redundancy rights