3. REDUNDANCY SELECTION CRITERIA

In many workplaces where unions organise, there is an agreed procedure in place for selecting for redundancy. A redundancy procedure will rarely be contractual, even if it has been collectively negotiated. This means that changing it will rarely be a breach of contract. By contrast, a promise to pay enhanced redundancy payments is much more likely to be contractual. For more information see Chapter 7.

Even though a redundancy procedure is unlikely to be contractual, failing to follow it can result in an unfair dismissal.

Additionally, although a redundancy procedure is unlikely to be contractual, any concessions made by unions are likely to be difficult to reverse in future redundancy exercises, so it is important to spell out that concessions are time-limited, or relate only to a specific redundancy situation.