Tag archives: redundancy

EAT decision reminds employers of the need for genuine consultation and reasonable selection criteria when carrying out redundancies

By Joanna MacKenzie on November 1, 2022 Posted in General, UK

In the recent case of Mogane v Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2022] UKEAT 139, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) found that the redundancy dismissal of a fixed term employee was unfair due to a lack of genuine consultation and the use of arbitrary selection criteria. The Claimant, Ms Mogane, was employed as … Continue reading

Caution for employers: redundancy entitlement when employer changes employment conditions and employee continues working for their employer

By David Cross and Norah Chafardet on July 17, 2020 Posted in Australia

The Federal Court of Australia (FCA) recently considered this issue in Broadlex Services Pty Ltd v United Workers’ Union [2020] FCA 867,[1] holding that an employee who was required to transfer her full-time employment to part-time was entitled to redundancy pay, because the employer no longer required the full-time job to be performed by anyone. … Continue reading

Comment faire face au Coronavirus en France?

By Elodie Grangier on March 23, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, France, General

Depuis le mois de janvier 2020, l’épidémie de Coronavirus COVID-19 s’est rapidement propagée à travers le monde, causant des milliers de décès. Le Gouvernement français a réagi en plusieurs temps : après avoir émis des recommandations en matière de gestes barrière, il a ensuite pris la décision de fermer écoles et établissements accueillant des enfants, puis … Continue reading

Good Work Plan: Government issues further response and consultation to support families and pregnant women

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on August 9, 2019 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, UK

As part of its Good Work Plan, the UK Government has recently published a response and a consultation paper on proposals which will protect and support families and pregnant women. The first Government paper considers extending redundancy protection for women and new parents. The second consultation looks at various proposals to support families, including a … Continue reading

The beginning of a revolution (by the French lower courts) ?

By Elodie Grangier on February 5, 2019 Posted in Contracts, Europe, France

French President Emmanuel Macron implemented a significant reform of the French employment code in late 2017, with the intention of providing employers greater flexibility and predictability in managing labour relations. One of the most controversial measures was the creation of a grid applicable to the amount of indemnities due to employees for unfair dismissal, setting … Continue reading

23 redundancies with no consultation? Federal Court says ‘that’s OK’

By Shannon Walker on November 19, 2017 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

An employer decides to abolish 23 full-time positions due to a lack of funding. Surely this is a major change likely to have a significant effect on employees which obliges the employer to consult with those employees as per the consultation term in their enterprise agreement? While many would say ‘yes, of course’, the Federal … Continue reading

French employment code reform: Focus on economic dismissals

By Elodie Grangier and François Guillon on November 6, 2017 Posted in Contracts, Europe, France

French President Emmanuel Macron has signed five ordinances making important changes to several aspects of the French employment code. The ordinances, which were immediately published in the French Official Journal on September 23rd, 2017, are aimed in particular at providing employers more flexibility and predictability in labour-management relations. Several provisions of this ambitious reform (the … Continue reading

Significant changes to French employment code to enter into force no later than January 1st, 2018

By Elodie Grangier on October 2, 2017 Posted in Contracts, Europe, France

What is the latest on employees’ rights in the event of redundancy in Germany?

By Stefanie Radina on August 18, 2017 Posted in Europe, General, Germany

In business, the restructuring of a company (such as by the closure of an individual business unit or a necessary reduction in the number of staff) may result in an employee’s redundancy. However, dismissing an employee by reason of redundancy has strict prerequisites under German law. The main requirements which must be observed under German … Continue reading

The (latest) reform of the French employment code is ongoing

By Elodie Grangier and Camille Chabrolin on August 11, 2017 Posted in Contracts, Europe, France

As part of candidate Emmanuel Macron’s program during the Presidential elections campaign, a substantial reform of the French employment Code was promised. After his election as President, French commentators anticipated new changes would be implemented quickly, given Emmanuel Macron’s indications that he wished to go ahead as soon as possible, without too much debate before … Continue reading

Protected species? Considering rights associated with pregnancy and parental leave in the event of redundancy

By Alexandra Shields on July 18, 2017 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

When an organisation is considering making redundancies, it is important to consider whether employees who are pregnant or on parental leave are afforded any special protections under Australian law. Both the Fair Work Act 2009 and anti-discrimination legislation include provisions particularly relating to pregnancy and parental leave, including the right to return to the same … Continue reading

Do employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave enjoy any special protection in the event of redundancy in Germany?

By Jannis Breitschwerdt on June 13, 2017 Posted in Europe, Germany

This post was also contributed by Tony Rau, Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Munich). German law provides for extensive protection of pregnant employees and employees on leave in connection with pregnancy. Regarding the latter, German law distinguishes between maternity leave (i.e. 6 weeks before until 8 weeks after childbirth – or 6 weeks before until … Continue reading

Do employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave enjoy any special protection in the event of redundancy in France?

By Elodie Grangier on May 29, 2017 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France

As is the case in many other countries (particularly countries in the European Union, which are covered by EU Directive 92/85/CEE dated 19 October 1992), France has implemented a full set of rules with the goal of protecting pregnant employees or employees on maternity leave against illegitimate termination of their employment contract. These protections also … Continue reading

Do employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave enjoy special protection on redundancy?

By Claire Darbourne (UK) on May 24, 2017 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, UK

It is not unlawful in itself to make an employee redundant who is pregnant or on maternity leave. This means that, subject to the special protection enjoyed in respect of alternative employment referred to below, the fairness and lawfulness of the redundancy dismissal will be determined in the same way as other redundancy dismissals. So, … Continue reading

What is the latest on employees’ rights in the event of redundancy in France?

By Elodie Grangier on March 27, 2017 Posted in Europe, France

Dismissing an employee due to economic difficulties is extremely delicate in France. A law dated 8th August 2016 has specified the definition of the economic grounds for dismissals, providing that economic difficulties are, in particular, characterized by a significant evolution of an indicator such as a significant drop of turnover, a significant drop in purchase … Continue reading

The necessity of adopting a sensitive consultation process in the event of redundancy

By Claire Darbourne (UK) on March 21, 2017 Posted in Europe, UK

This post was contributed by Jahan Meeran, Trainee Solicitor, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, London A recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) illustrates the pitfalls of not adopting a sensitive consultation process in the event of redundancy.. In the case, the claimant had been employed by the property management division of his employer for … Continue reading

Genuine Redundancy and Redeployment – Job Swapping Reasonable in All the Circumstances?

By Jenny Smith on March 20, 2017 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

In the recent case of Skinner et al v Asciano Services Pty Ltd T/A Pacific National Bulk [2017] FWCFB 574 the Full Bench found that an employer breached its obligation to explore redeployment options under s.389(2) of the Fair Work Act 2009 after making 7 of its employees redundant without properly considering job swaps and … Continue reading

Italy’s Supreme Court confirms that dismissals for redundancy to increase profits are legal

By Attilio Pavone on January 16, 2017 Posted in Europe, Italy

In a decision dated December 7, 2016, Italy’s Supreme Court – the Corte di Cassazione – confirmed that the dismissal of an individual employee for redundancy can be legally grounded solely on business-related reasons, such as improving the company’s competitiveness, reducing costs, or increasing profits. The decision was based on the constitutional principle of “freedom … Continue reading

Obtaining alternative employment and redundancy pay: Does the offer meet the test of acceptability?

By Amy Leonard on July 28, 2016 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

If an employee is entitled to redundancy pay on termination, but their employer has obtained other acceptable employment for them, the employer can apply to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for an order under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) to reduce (including to nil) the amount of redundancy pay that is due … Continue reading

Do you need to pay redundancy when you lose a client contract?

By Global Workplace Insider Team on May 29, 2016 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

Section 119(1)(a) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) states that an employee is entitled to be paid redundancy pay by the employer if the employment is terminated at the employer’s initiative because the employer no longer requires the job done by the employee to be done by anyone, except where this is due to … Continue reading

ECJ decision on Collective Redundancy.

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on May 7, 2015 Posted in Europe, UK

The ECJ has delivered its decision in a case based on the interpretation of collective redundancies and how to determine the term “establishment”. It has held that the UK legislation does correctly implement the EU directive on collective redundancies and therefore that the term “establishment” must be interpreted as referring to the entity to which the … Continue reading

Economic dismissal : conditional reclassification offers lead to unfair dismissal

By Judicaël Fouquet on April 30, 2015 Posted in Europe, France

The legal background In the context of an economic dismissal, even when the employer claims to have strong economic grounds for justifying the termination of the employment contracts, it is still required to comply with the general reclassification obligation applicable to all economic dismissal procedures. Such obligation consists in trying to seek alternative positions to … Continue reading

Full Bench rules on the meaning of “redundancy” in an enterprise agreement

By Global Workplace Insider Team on March 10, 2015 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

Employers may have granted entitlements to redundancy pay through enterprise agreements in wider situations than provided by the National Employment Standards (NES). The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has ruled that the entitlement to redundancy pay in an enterprise agreement should not be ‘read down’ to exclude the ‘ordinary and customary turnover of … Continue reading

Obligations of the employers in Colombia regarding collective consultation on redundancy

By Isabella Gandini on February 27, 2015 Posted in Colombia, Latin America

In Colombia, companies are not obliged to request authorization from the unions to carry out downsizing processes. However, it is advisable to review if the collective bargaining agreements entered into with the unions include any obligation in this regard. According to Colombian labor law, redundancy, economic reasons and the fact that a role is no … Continue reading