25 Jul Unfair Selection For Redundancy

The Complainant was initially hired by an online education company in June 2019 as an Account Executive and was promoted to a Global Director role in April 2022, which was then made redundant in February 2023 following a global headcount reduction of 20% due to economic challenges.

The Complainant claimed that following a selection process that lacked transparency and was biased and subjective, she was unfairly selected for redundancy when a number of the leadership roles in Dublin were not retained, and that her selection had been pre-determined.

The Respondent disputed all claims and asserted that they had applied a fair process and criteria that was aligned with the restructured leadership roles and required competencies.

The issue of the minimal use of past performance (20%) versus a competency-based interview (80%) was a significant part of the Complainants case as well as alleged bias from her former manager.

The Adjudicating Officer’s decision under Section 6(1) of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 highlighted that a dismissal is deemed unfair unless justified by substantial grounds. Section 6(4)(c) specifies that redundancy is not an unfair dismissal if the dismissal results wholly or mainly from redundancy, as defined under Section 7(2) of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2014, but that the employer must demonstrate that the dismissal was due to redundancy and that the selection process was fair.

The Adjudicator found the redundancy was genuine but determined the selection criteria and process were not fairly and objectively applied, therefore failing to prove the dismissal was fair and transparent. The Complainant was awarded €112,000 compensation, based on her established financial loss.

This is a useful case to once again emphasise that even when a genuine redundancy situation exists, there must be transparency in the process used at all times, with objective criteria in use for selection, as well as genuine consultation and feedback.

See full details here https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2024/july/adj-00044941.html