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How to choose and apply redundancy selection criteria

Author: Elizabeth Stevens and Stephen Chegwin

Summary

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  • Understand the role of a redundancy selection matrix to carry out a scoring exercise for each employee in the redundancy pool.
  • Check whether contractual redundancy selection criteria apply to the redundancy exercise.
  • Ensure that, as far as possible, selection criteria are objective and measurable and not based on subjective opinion.
  • Consider what skills and experience are most relevant for the job and ensure that the criteria reflect the requirements of the job.
  • Consult employees on the selection criteria and scoring method.
  • When assessing performance, where possible base scores on quantifiable factors such as sales figures or on recent appraisals and performance reviews.
  • Be careful when using absence levels as a criterion. A failure to discount absences related to, for example, disability or maternity is likely to be discriminatory.
  • Do not rely on "last in, first out" as the sole criterion for selection, as this is likely to be indirectly discriminatory on the grounds of age and potentially sex.
  • Where possible, ensure that scores are moderated by more than one person to guard against bias.
  • Make sure that employees identified as being at risk of redundancy are provided with their own score (as a minimum) and fully consulted on it prior to the final decision being made.