Answer

What does being made redundant mean?

Being made redundant means your employer is ending your job because the role or the work itself is no longer needed, not because of anything about your performance or conduct. It happens when a business closes, a workplace closes, or fewer employees are needed to do a particular kind of work. If your redundancy is genuine and you qualify, you are entitled to statutory redundancy pay and a fair process.

What makes a redundancy genuine

A genuine redundancy is about the job, not the person doing it. If your employer is really replacing you like-for-like, or dismissing you for performance, conduct or any other reason dressed up as redundancy, the dismissal may not be a genuine redundancy at all, which changes what you may be able to claim.

Employers often offer a settlement agreement alongside or instead of the statutory redundancy process, usually to secure a clean break and a waiver of employment claims. Our full guide to being made redundant covers what to check in the process, and the redundancy hub breaks down your rights by scenario.