Redundancy - last in first out

Leanne196

Traditionally, a â€œlast in, first outâ€ (LIFO) criterion for redundancies has been regarded as the fairest and most objective method of worker selection. However, with the introduction of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, the practice of using the LIFO principle may not be as straightforward as it once was.

LIFO has a tendency to work against younger workers, as they are often the ones likely to have served with the company for the shortest time. While this is an unintended consequence of the policy, employees who find themselves made redundant due to LIFO selection may be able to make claim against their employer for indirect discrimination on grounds of age.

An employer may also be able to justify using LIFO if it is used in conjunction with other criteria to select potential candidates for redundancy, or if it is used to determine a selection between two otherwise similar employees.

The collective agreement with the union will be binding on union members but can still be challenged as it does not take precedent over statute. Therefore, if you feel you are discriminated against you can still challenge this in an employment tribunal even if a union agreement exists.

michael s

Employment law is notoriously complex. Either see your union official or go to C.A.B. to get proper legal advice, don't just take your employers word for it. There is a due process of redundancy.

Good luck

A company making redundancies must select the positions to be made redundant by a fair process. As long as they can prove that this is the case then I do not believe it is illegal for them to make your position redundant. N.B. it is the actual position which is made redundant, not the individual, so I don't see how age discrimination comes into it.

With regards to age discrimination, this means that those employees who are protected by it can't be discriminated against because of their age - but they can't be positively discriminated against either because of their age, which is what it may be if a position was not made redundant just because the employee carrying out the role was of a certain age.

tex k

I am not sure about this position in law but it is usual for the staff who have been at a company for the shortest time to be the first in line when redundancies occur.Its not nice but if you had been loyal to a company for say ten years you would not expect to be made redundant ahead of someone who had only worked for the company for say a year.

Loved by some, hated by most!

That is legal for them to do that.

Timbo is here

It cannot be illegal to make someone redundant because of age discrimination.

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