Redundancy

Redundancy usually occurs when, through no fault of your own, the job you have been doing is no longer required to be done by anyone. Effectively, to be a genuine redundancy, your job must cease to exist.

Your job is made up of many things including, for example, your job title, your pay, your hours, where your job is located and your duties. Consider all of these factors together when you ask yourself whether your job has truly ceased to exist.

Redundancy may occur for a number of reasons, for example:

• a downturn in production, sales, or the economy generally;
• the introduction of new technology;
• business relocation;
• the duties of your position are reallocated to other employees;
• the business merges with another business or is sold;
• an internal company restructure occurs; or
• your employer becomes insolvent or bankrupt.

Remember, it is the job that becomes redundant, not you.

If you lose your employment as a result of a redundancy, this is called a ‘retrenchment’. An alternative to retrenchment might involve, for example, you moving to a different position with the same employer. This is called ‘redeployment’.

More detailed information including redundancy entitlements, notice of termination, transfer of business situations, liquidation and bankruptcy, and more can be found in the attached Fact Sheet, which we recommend you download.

For further support

Call our Telephone Information Service on Melbourne Metro (03) 9662 1933 or Regional Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania on 1800 331 617.