Voluntary redundancy
[ch 17: pages 118-119]All voluntary redundancy criteria must be relevant and non-discriminatory.
The chance to take voluntary redundancy must be publicised, so that anyone who is away from the workplace, for example, on maternity leave or disability-related sickness absence, does not miss out. In HM Land Registry v Benson [2011] UKEAT/0197/11, it was sex discrimination not to inform a woman who was on a career break about a voluntary redundancy opportunity, given the evidence in that case that women take proportionately longer career breaks than men.
Reps should take care that members are not volunteering just because they believe they will not get a fair chance at any jobs that are available and will suffer discrimination:
A black worker experienced racial harassment in a workplace where abuse was rife and went unchecked. He was sure that the abusive manager would influence the redundancy selection process, so he resigned and claimed compensation for constructive discriminatory dismissal on grounds of race. The EAT ruled that the employer’s continuing failure to stop the abuse was an act of discrimination which justified the resignation as a constructive dismissal.
Derby Specialist Fabrication v Burton [2001] IRLR 69
Women who are made redundant during maternity leave have additional statutory rights (see page 122).