Changes to Redundancy

A redundancy exists when the employer no longer has a role for the employee. The employer has to consider alternative positions and even reasonable retraining to be able to show that it was a genuine redundancy and there was no other position the affected employee could fill.

 However, a recent Federal Court matter found that employers have an obligation to assess whether employees in a redundancy situation could replace a contractor working for the employer before making them redundant. The employer must also look to the future to enquire as to whether they will be using a contractor in the near future.

 This means that when considering a redundancy there needs to be a more wide-ranging and more detailed analysis of whether the affected employee can be used elsewhere in the business.

 Obviously, the affected employee must have the necessary skills or be able to pick up the skills in a relatively short timeframe. If you have a contract plant operator sowing seeds, could the affected employee operate the machinery?

In such a case, if the contract arrangements are soon to conclude then it may be reasonable for the employer to hold off any redundancy until this happens.

 Before terminating any employee, no matter the reason, it is always best to get expert advice. As this case shows, the law is constantly changing.