Redeployment Obligations.
More often than not, we find that when thinking about restructures, redeployment obligations are considered as an afterthought.
However, employment law is clear that employers have onerous obligations to consider what, if any, redeployment opportunities might be available to an employee who may lose their job in a restructure.
Employers must comply with their good faith obligations during any restructure process which includes the requirement to be active and constructive in establishing and maintaining the employment relationship. Employers have an obligation to identify and consult with employees on redeployment opportunities.
What this means is that if an employee has been made redundant, that employee must be offered vacant or newly created roles within the business not only if the employee has the skill set to complete those roles but also if the employee may require some training and support in order to complete those roles.
Assessment for suitable redeployment roles must not be unilaterally decided upon by employers. Suitability assessment must be made in consultation with the employee during the restructure process.
If an employer is externally recruiting for a vacant role that an employee whose role has been disestablished could complete, it is not enough for an employer to simply put that employee in the pool of external applicants. The Authority has been clear this is not consistent with the redeployment obligations of an employer.
An employer’s failure to consider redeployment obligations may bring in to question the genuineness of a redundancy and its timing.
When embarking on a potential restructure process, it is imperative that redeployment opportunities are considered from the outset.
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