How is fair selection for redundancy done?

When multiple people could be made redundant, your employer must select fairly. They can't just pick you because they don't like you or want to cut costs on higher-paid staff. Selection must be based on objective criteria applied consistently.

• LIFO (Last In First Out): Those with shortest service go first. Simple and objective.
• Performance: Those with lowest performance ratings. But must be fair and not discriminatory.
• Skills and qualifications: Those with skills less needed in the new structure.
• Attendance: Those with worst attendance records. But medical absences must be treated carefully.
• Flexibility: Those unwilling to retrain or move to other roles.

• Applying criteria inconsistently (some people with poor performance kept, others with better performance selected)
• Criteria that indirectly discriminate (e.g. always selecting part-time workers, which disproportionately affects women)
• No criteria at all—just picking people your employer doesn't like
• Selecting people who were planning to take maternity leave, parental leave, or disability leave
• Selecting based on age, even indirectly

You have the right to appeal the selection decision. Your employer must listen to your case and genuinely reconsider. If they made an error in applying criteria, you might be taken off the redundancy list.