LRD guides and handbook October 2013

Redundancy law - a guide to using the law for union reps

Chapter 3

Apprentices and redundancy selection

As a general rule, an apprentice should not be selected for redundancy unless the business is closing down. Apprentices who are wrongfully made redundant can bring a claim for their wages for the balance of the apprenticeship term, subject to a duty to take reasonable steps to mitigate their losses by, for example, completing their training with another employer. For example:

CA Roofing Services took on Mr Wallace as an apprentice sheet metalworker but then sought to make him redundant when the work declined. He brought a successful claim for damages for breach of the apprenticeship contract.

Wallace v CA Roofing Services Limited [1996] IRLR 435