Redundancy Selection Criteria for Employers

Redundancy selection criteria for employers must provide a fair and objective way to decide which employees remain in roles and which employees face redundancy.

Selection is often one of the most difficult parts of a redundancy process. Poorly chosen criteria, inconsistent scoring or a predetermined outcome can lead to unfair dismissal and discrimination claims.

Employers should create appropriate selection pools, consult affected employees and use evidence-based criteria that reflect the future needs of the business.

When do employers need redundancy selection criteria?

An employer will normally need selection criteria when several employees carry out the same or similar work, but the business only needs to remove some of those roles.

For example, a company may need to reduce a team of ten administrators to six. It should usually place the affected employees into an appropriate selection pool and score them against consistent criteria.

A competitive selection process may not be necessary where a distinct role disappears and only one employee performs it. However, employers should still consider whether other employees carry out interchangeable work or whether a wider pool would be reasonable.

The employer must select roles for redundancy rather than using redundancy to remove a particular individual. Performance, conduct or relationship problems may require a different employment procedure.

Creating a fair selection pool

The selection pool identifies the employees who will undergo assessment. Employers should decide the pool before scoring begins and document the business reasons behind it.

A pool may include employees who perform similar duties, possess interchangeable skills or could reasonably undertake each other’s roles. Job titles alone may not provide an accurate picture.

Employers should consider:

• the work that employees actually perform;
• whether their duties overlap;
• whether employees have previously moved between the roles;
• the terms of their employment contracts; and
• the structure the organisation needs after redundancy.

An employer has some discretion when defining the pool. Nevertheless, it should reach a reasonable decision and consult employees before treating the pool as final.

Further information about planning the overall exercise appears on our redundancy advice for employers page.

Choosing redundancy selection criteria for employers

Redundancy selection criteria for employers should relate to genuine business requirements. They should also be clear, measurable and capable of consistent application across the selection pool.

Common criteria may include:

• relevant skills, qualifications and experience;
• documented work performance;
• disciplinary records;
• attendance records, subject to important exclusions;
• versatility or ability to perform essential duties; and
• specific knowledge required by the future organisation.

The employer does not have to give every criterion equal weight. For instance, essential technical skills may carry more weight than length of service. However, the weighting should reflect a genuine future business need.

Employers should avoid vague measures such as “attitude”, “commitment” or “management opinion” unless they define them clearly and support every score with reliable evidence.

Using performance and skills fairly

Performance can form part of a fair selection process where the employer has reliable records. Recent appraisals, documented targets and relevant quality measures may provide suitable evidence.

Problems arise when managers award scores from memory or introduce concerns that they have never raised with the employee. Scoring should not become a substitute for an earlier performance-management process.

Similarly, skills criteria should focus on abilities that the business genuinely needs after restructuring. Employers should distinguish between essential skills and abilities that would merely be helpful.

Where managers must exercise judgement, the employer should provide scoring definitions. Ideally, more than one manager should review the scores to reduce personal bias and improve consistency.

Attendance and disciplinary records

Employers can sometimes use attendance as a criterion, but they must check the reasons for absence carefully.

They should not count absences connected with pregnancy, maternity or another form of protected family leave. Disability-related absence may also require adjustment or exclusion to prevent unlawful discrimination.

Accurate disciplinary records can provide a more objective criterion. However, employers should normally rely only on live formal warnings. They should not count expired warnings, unsupported allegations or informal concerns as though they were proven misconduct.

Avoiding discrimination in redundancy scoring

Even apparently neutral criteria can disadvantage employees who share a protected characteristic.

For example, a criterion based heavily on flexibility to work late may disadvantage employees with childcare responsibilities. Length of service may place younger employees at a disadvantage, while attendance scoring can adversely affect disabled employees.

This does not mean employers can never use such criteria. However, they should examine their impact, consider less discriminatory alternatives and ensure that any disadvantage has a legitimate and proportionate business justification.

Special rules also protect certain employees who are pregnant or taking, or have recently returned from, qualifying family leave. Where a protected employee faces redundancy, the employer may have to offer them a suitable alternative vacancy in priority to other employees.

Our article on suitable alternative employment during redundancy explains this stage in more detail.

Scoring employees consistently

Before scoring begins, the employer should create a written matrix with a clear scale for each criterion. Each score should have a definition so that managers understand the difference between, for example, one point and four points.

A reliable scoring process should:

• use the same criteria for everyone in the pool;
• rely on documents or other verifiable evidence;
• apply the agreed scoring definitions consistently;
• identify and correct obvious anomalies; and
• retain a written explanation for each score.

Moderation can improve consistency where different managers score different employees. The employer should review unusual results and confirm that similar evidence has produced similar scores.

Managers should never alter scores simply to achieve a preferred outcome. If the proposed structure requires particular skills, the criteria and weightings should reflect that need from the outset.

Consulting employees about selection

Consultation should begin while the redundancy proposals remain open to change. Employers should explain the proposed pool, criteria, weightings and scoring method.

Affected employees should have an opportunity to comment on the approach and suggest alternatives. The employer must genuinely consider those comments rather than presenting the process as complete.

After scoring, the employer should normally explain the employee’s own scores and the evidence behind them. This allows the employee to correct factual errors, identify missing information or challenge inconsistent treatment.

The employer can protect the confidentiality of colleagues by providing anonymised information rather than disclosing their names and individual personal data.

Our article on the redundancy consultation process covers the wider consultation requirements.

Redundancy selection criteria and appeals

Employers should offer employees an opportunity to appeal against their redundancy selection. The appeal can identify scoring errors, procedural problems or information that the original decision-maker did not consider.

Where possible, a manager who did not make the initial decision should hear the appeal. The employer should review the challenged scores, consider any new evidence and confirm the outcome in writing.

An appeal does not correct every earlier mistake. Nevertheless, a genuine and impartial review can resolve errors before they result in an employment tribunal claim.

Advice on redundancy selection criteria for employers

Redundancy selection criteria for employers should produce a fair outcome based on business needs and reliable evidence. Employers should avoid subjective scoring, discriminatory criteria and decisions designed around a chosen individual.

EBS Law helps employers define selection pools, prepare scoring matrices, conduct consultations and review proposed redundancy decisions before dismissal.