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Can sickness absence affect redundancy selection?
Yes, sickness absence can affect redundancy selection, but only if the employer handles it fairly and lawfully. In the UK, redundancy decisions should be based on objective criteria, such as skills, qualifications, performance, and attendance. However, using sickness absence as a score or factor can be risky if it disadvantages disabled employees or those absent for reasons protected by law.
An employer must not simply choose someone for redundancy because they have had time off sick. They should first make sure the redundancy situation is genuine and that the selection pool is reasonable. If absence records are used, the employer should check whether the absences relate to a disability, pregnancy, maternity, or another protected reason.
What makes redundancy selection unfair?
Redundancy selection becomes unfair if the employer uses a biased or inaccurate process. For example, scoring an employee badly for sickness absence without considering the cause may lead to indirect discrimination or disability discrimination. This is especially important where the employee has a long-term health condition.
Employers should apply the same criteria to everyone in the selection pool and explain how the scores were reached. If a worker has been absent due to a disability, the employer may need to make reasonable adjustments to the process. Failing to do so can make the redundancy dismissal unfair even if the business need for redundancies is real.
When sickness absence should be excluded
Some absences should usually be left out of redundancy scoring. This may include disability-related sickness, pregnancy-related illness, maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave, and time off for family-related rights. Employers should be careful not to treat these absences as ordinary attendance issues.
If protected absences are included, the selection process may be challenged. A tribunal will look at whether the employer acted reasonably and whether the redundancy criteria were genuinely necessary. Employers should keep records showing that they considered these issues properly.
What employees can do
If you think sickness absence affected your redundancy selection unfairly, ask your employer for the scoring matrix and the reasons for your score. You can also check whether your absences were linked to a disability or other protected reason. This information may help show whether the process was discriminatory or unfair.
You should raise a grievance if the process seems wrong, and seek advice quickly because strict time limits apply to employment claims. In many cases, early legal advice can help you understand whether you may have a claim for unfair dismissal or discrimination. If you were selected mainly because of sickness absence, the decision may be open to challenge.
Key point
Sickness absence can be considered in redundancy selection, but only with care and fairness. Employers must avoid penalising protected absences and must use objective, non-discriminatory criteria. If they do not, the selection process may be unfair.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights refers to how an employer must handle an employee's sickness absence when choosing people for redundancy, so that the selection process is fair, objective, and does not unlawfully disadvantage someone because of illness or disability.
Sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights can influence redundancy scoring because absence records are sometimes used in selection matrices, but employers must ensure that sickness-related absences are not counted in a way that makes the process unfair or discriminatory.
Yes, sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights can make a redundancy dismissal unfair if an employer relies on sickness absence in a discriminatory or unreasonable way, or fails to make proper adjustments for disability-related absence.
Yes, sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights may protect employees with long-term illness, especially where the illness amounts to a disability and the employer must avoid discrimination and consider reasonable adjustments in the redundancy process.
Sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights is closely linked to disability discrimination because employers should not penalise absences caused by a disability without justification, and they may need to exclude or adjust those absences when selecting for redundancy.
An employer can only count sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights against an employee if the criterion is applied fairly, is genuinely necessary, and does not directly or indirectly discriminate against disabled employees or those on protected leave.
Evidence for sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights claims may include the redundancy scoring matrix, absence records, meeting notes, emails, occupational health reports, and proof that sickness absence was treated differently from other absences.
Reasonable adjustments can affect sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights by requiring the employer to modify scoring, disregard disability-related absences, or otherwise change the process so the employee is not placed at an unfair disadvantage.
Yes, pregnancy-related sickness can interact with sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights because absences connected to pregnancy or maternity must not be used to disadvantage an employee in redundancy selection.
If sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights were ignored, the employee should raise the issue internally, request the scoring and reasons, gather evidence, and consider a grievance or legal advice before the deadline for any claim.
During collective redundancy consultations, sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights still applies because individual selection must remain fair and non-discriminatory even when the employer is consulting on wider redundancies.
Yes, sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights can be challenged at an employment tribunal if the employee believes the redundancy selection was unfair, unreasonable, or discriminatory because of sickness absence.
The difference is that sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights concerns whether absence scoring is lawful and fair in redundancy selection, while normal attendance scoring is a general performance measure that still must not penalise protected or disability-related absences unfairly.
Yes, sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights can apply to short-term intermittent illness, but employers must still ensure that any scoring or weighting is reasonable and does not indirectly discriminate against a protected group.
An employer should record absences accurately and separately identify sickness-related, disability-related, pregnancy-related, and other protected absences so that sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights is assessed fairly and lawfully.
No, sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights generally cannot be waived by contract if doing so would permit unfair dismissal or unlawful discrimination, because statutory employment protections still apply.
Sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights relates to objective selection criteria because even objective criteria must be applied consistently and must not disadvantage employees for reasons connected to disability or other protected absences.
If sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights are treated inconsistently between employees, the redundancy selection may be challenged as unfair, arbitrary, or discriminatory, especially if similar absences are scored differently without a valid reason.
Yes, trade union representation can help with sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights by reviewing the scoring, raising objections, negotiating with the employer, and supporting a grievance or tribunal claim if needed.
The best way to prove sickness absence effect on unfair redundancy selection rights were breached is to compare the employer's policy and scoring with how the process was actually applied, highlighting any use of protected sickness absence, missing adjustments, or inconsistent treatment.
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