Redundancy selection assessment

When choosing redundancy selection criteria, you need to ensure they’re objectively chosen and then fairly applied. Our selection criteria document is aimed at helping you with the first part of this and then our redundancy selection assessment will assist you with putting together a scoring system based on your selection criteria. 

Fair selection

You’re likely to be in unfair dismissal territory if the selection criteria you use to decide which employees are to be chosen for redundancy are not objectively chosen and fairly applied. This is a two-stage process. The first is deciding on the selection criteria you are going to use. The second stage is to then put those criteria into a matrix and adopt a fair marking system. This is normally based on points awarded and you need to be clear what each point level means. This is where our Redundancy Selection Assessment comes in. Our assessment sets out the following eight objective selection criteria: length of service, absence record in the previous twelve months, timekeeping record, disciplinary record for misconduct/poor performance, job performance and quality of work, quantity of work and achievement of targets, relevant skills, qualifications and training and, finally, future potential and flexibility, including the ability to take on new job duties/responsibilities. These are our starting point but you’ll need to consider what factors are important for the future needs of your business. So you may decide to delete some of these criteria or add new ones. The important thing is that the criteria are objective. Don’t use vague, subjective criteria, such as attitude.

Manner of selection

Our assessment then sets out a marking system based on one to four points for each criterion (although we have also allowed for the possibility for certain criteria to be weighted, to reflect their relative importance to your business). Against each one, we’ve set out what the employee needs to have achieved or attained to be awarded each particular mark. When awarding marks, make sure they’re verifiable by reference to evidence and data, such as personnel files, appraisal forms, skills audits, timesheets, attendance records and disciplinary records - you don’t want accusations that you’ve been subjective or biased. Also, ensure the marking is done by two members of the management team. The first will put together provisional scores and the second will review and ratify them, to come to an agreed score. Once you’ve concluded the marking, show the selected employees their individual marks as part of the consultation procedure so they can contest their selection if they think it’s unfair. You can do this by giving each employee a copy of their completed redundancy selection assessment. It’s also advisable to circulate the blank assessment form before marking has taken place, so that employees have a chance to see the selection criteria and marking system to be adopted, again giving them a chance to challenge it if they don’t think it’s fair. Finally, we’ve inserted guidance notes into the assessment. These are intended for the employee but they’ll also help you too.