When you are fired, you are let go from a job because you broke some sort of rule or you were very bad at your job. Perhaps you cost the company too much money, or things weren’t working out. Redundancy is a little different. This is when your job no longer exists, and perhaps your department no longer exists. Being made redundant isn’t a great thing to appear on your CV, but it isn’t as bad as being fired.
Read more: 5 Strategies to Keep Your Employees Happy
1. Redundancy and Trial-Period Dismissal Are Different Things
If you are still in your trial period on your contract, then being dismissed is similar to being fired. Sometimes, people take jobs that they are not suitable for, and being dismissed before the trial period is over is okay. Redundancy within the trial period is very rare except with certain short-term jobs or with start-up companies and department reorganizations where things can get messy fast.
2. Unfair Dismissal Claims Over 2yrs of Service
If you have been working for a company for over two years and you think they are saying you are being made redundant because they wanted to fire you, then you can consider an unfair dismissal case.
3. They Replaced Me Then Made Me Redundantly
This is a tricky one. If you were replaced in your role and then fired, the company can claim you were made redundant rather than fired. It is more difficult to file a wrongful dismissal case, though you should still seek advice.
4. Redundant People Are Given Redundancy Pay
If you are fired, you are paid right up to the moment you were fired. If you are made redundant, then there are rules (state and national) dictating how much you are paid. They should provide you with some paperwork showing how your redundancy pay was calculated.
5. You Can Go To Court Over Redundancy Pay
Do your research after you are made redundant. See if your redundancy pay is up to the legal code and is within the realms of your job’s contract. Seek professional advice if needs be because companies that try to underpay redundancy pay are pretty easy to sue.
6. They Don’t Have To Continue Your Pension
The company may give you a chance to keep your pension plan open, especially when many pension plans are from third-party companies that don’t have exclusive deals with your old job. However, the company making you redundant has very little responsibility other than paying into your pension what is owed pre-and-post redundancy.
7. There Isn’t Much You Can Do If Things Are Unfair
Even if things are super unfair, there isn’t much you can do when things are unfair. They shouldn’t pick you for redundancy due to any of the factors listed below:
- Attendance record
- Disciplinary record
- Standard of work performance
- Aptitude for work
- Skills or experience
However, most businesses will pick you based on these facts, and it isn’t much you can do about it. Unless you are pregnant, on maternity, a whistle-blower, or something as notable as that, then there is little you can do to prove you weren’t picked for redundancy because of one of these facts.
8. You Don’t Need to Go Into Details on Your CV
On your CV, write that your employment ended on a certain date. When you are asked about your employment in an interview, say that you were made redundant because your department was dissolved or the business went bust. Keep your explanations simple. If they want further details (they won’t), then they will ask at a later date. Do not treat becoming redundant as a black mark on your work record.
Take a look at Eagle headhunting agency here, and see how agencies do not regard redundancy as a bad thing. So long as you were not fired for negligence or something criminal, then most headhunters don’t care.
