Unfair redundancy

[Agutka]

I’m looking for advice regarding a redundancy that I believe may be unfair.


I have been with my employer for 13.5 years as a Hygiene Supervisor on night shift (£42k salary). The company has decided to remove the Supervisor role, saying the Hygiene structure is “top-heavy.” I have serious concerns about both the genuineness of the redundancy and the fairness of the process.



Why I believe this is not a genuine redundancy


During consultation the company confirmed that:

• my duties will be split between Team Leaders, the Hygiene Manager, and possibly other departments
• no reduction in workload exists
• the business still requires the same supervision tasks

So the work has not ceased — it’s simply being redistributed.


Procedural issues

• No business case was provided until after the grievance meeting
• No written risk assessment exists (confirmed by employer), even though Hygiene is a high-risk department (chemicals, COSHH, contamination control)
• The job description “comparison” was just colour-coding, with no criteria, scoring or methodology
• The company compared Hygiene to Production to justify removing my role, even though these departments are not comparable
• The Hygiene Manager was directly involved in the decision, but his role was never at risk (he also wrote the job descriptions that were used)
• Alternatives were not explored – I was just told to “check the website”
• My grievance was partially upheld, but the consultation was not restarted or corrected

Where I am now


I’ve completed the final consultation meeting and received minimal documentation (an “Executive Summary” which contains no actual analysis). I plan to appeal, and then likely proceed to ACAS.

Any thoughts on:

• whether this looks like unfair redundancy
• whether the lack of risk assessment and missing documentation is significant
• how to approach the appeal and ACAS
  would be greatly appreciated.

[ULA]

With the limited information it seems like this may be a restructuring which can allow for a redundancy situation, provided the restructure creates a genuine redundancy situation and the employer follows a fair redundancy process.

If the work continues but is simply redistributed among other positions, the role may not be redundant and the appeal should be on this basis.

[Agutka]

Thank you ULA! I am concerned that employer didn’t follow a fair redundancy process. They didn’t explain why they chose Supervisor rather thank Team Leader or Manager for redundancy. Employer keep repeating that structure is top heavy and job descriptions are overlapping.
But there is no data to support their „believes” just their words.
It just feels wrong.

[ULA]

Have you put in your appeal now?

In which case was the basis of that appeal.

What part of your original grievance was upheld, what were the reasons they upheld it and what was the outcome of doing so?