The employer's genuine redundancy defence failed because it could not demonstrate a fair and meaningful redundancy process, rendering the dismissal unfair.

The Complainant had commenced employment with the Respondent in November 2022 and was dismissed in February 2024. He maintained that his dismissal had been presented as redundancy but was not genuine. He said that, shortly before the dismissal, Romanian employees had complained about racist remarks made by a colleague. The Respondent had suspended employees, reiterated a zero-tolerance policy on racism, and later asked the affected workers to accept an apology. The Complainant said he remained uncomfortable working with the individual concerned. Days later, he was told his employment was ending due to lack of work. He argued that no proper redundancy process had occurred, no consultation had taken place, no notice of risk was given, no alternatives such as redeployment or reduced hours were considered, and no objective or impersonal selection criteria had been applied. He claimed 44 weeks’ loss.

The Respondent denied unfair dismissal and said the Complainant had been dismissed by reason of genuine redundancy. It stated that it depended on a particular client for work and that the volume of work had fallen dramatically, requiring redundancies. It accepted that an Irish employee had made a racist remark but said that person had been dismissed and that another employee had received a verbal warning and apologised. The Respondent denied any link between the complaint about racism and the Complainant’s dismissal. It said the redundancy decision had been made before Christmas, before the January incident, but that employees were notified only after the break. The Respondent said between 10 and 16 people had been let go and produced a selection matrix based on productivity, business knowledge, flexibility, timekeeping and disciplinary matters. It also argued that the Complainant had failed to properly mitigate his loss.

The Adjudicating Officer held that the Complainant had been unfairly dismissed. The payment of wages and employment equality complaints had been withdrawn, leaving only the unfair dismissal complaint. The Respondent bore the burden of proving that dismissal resulted wholly or mainly from redundancy. Although the Respondent gave evidence of a downturn in business, it produced no sufficient supporting evidence of that downturn or of reduced employee numbers. More importantly, the process was fundamentally defective. Affected employees were called together, told their employment was terminated, escorted off site and paid notice in lieu. There had been no consultation, no effort to minimise redundancies, no notice of risk, no contractual or handbook procedure, and no termination letters produced. The selection matrix carried little weight because those who created and applied it did not give evidence. The dismissal was therefore unfair. Compensation of €10,000 net was awarded.

Employers should:

1. Be able to prove both the commercial need and the fairness of the redundancy process. A downturn in work may justify redundancies, but assertions alone will rarely be enough. Employers should retain objective evidence such as client communications, order books, financial records, headcount data, forecasts and board or management minutes showing why redundancies were required.
2. Warn employees that that their roles are at risk, given an opportunity to consult, advised of the selection criteria, allowed to comment on the proposed scoring, and considered for alternatives such as redeployment, reduced hours, lay-off or other suitable roles. If a matrix is used, the people who prepared and applied it should be available to explain it in evidence.
3. Avoid treating immediate removal from site as a substitute for process. Security or client concerns may justify practical arrangements after a decision is made, but they do not excuse failure to consult or explain selection. A genuine downturn will not cure an opaque, collective, abrupt termination.
   
   

The full case can be found here.