Genuine Redundancy but Flawed Procedure results in Unfair Dismissal

In the case of An Employee v A Limited Company ADJ 21251 it was held by the Workplace Relations Commission that a genuine redundancy existed however the procedure in carrying out the redundancy was flawed hence the employee succeeded in their unfair dismissal claim.The Adjudictor or Hearing Offcer noted that he was“….not satisfied that the respondent carried out any consultation process, meaningful or otherwise with the employees prior to making the decision to make positions redundant. No notice was given to the complainant of the pending redundancy. It seems that any discussions or explanations came after the decision had been made and the complainant was put on notice. In that regard the process was procedurally flawed”Case Tip – Employers should note that even if you can prove that an employee’s job is no longer there it is equally as important to get the procedure correct in dismissing an employee on the grounds of redundancy. If either (a) the redundancy is not genuine and/or (b) proper and fair procedure is not followed then an employee will most likely win a claim for unfair dismissal.