Redundancy Process UK: How Far Must Employers Go to Look for Alternative Employment?

When an employee is at risk of redundancy, one of the key steps in any fair process is to consider whether there are any alternative employment options. These include vacancies available in the business or, where relevant, in any group companies.

Often, we see companies simply send a list of vacancies and say, “Have a look if there’s anything you wish to do.” But that’s not sufficient. So let’s look at how the law has developed, and what the current state of play is, which is not always exactly clear.

Alternative employment: the legal duty

The duty to search for alternative roles was first established in Vokes Ltd v Bear [1973], where the tribunal confirmed that the availability of alternative employment is relevant to the overall fairness of a dismissal.

In Quinton Hazell Ltd v Earl [1976], the court clarified that employers are not expected to explore every possible option but must take “reasonable steps”. That raises the question — what are reasonable steps? As is often the case in employment law, the answer depends on the size of the employer, the roles available, and how the process is handled.

In Hendy Group v Kennedy [2024], the EAT upheld a finding of unfair dismissal after the employer did nothing meaningful to support the employee in finding alternative work. Mr Kennedy was told to apply for roles via the website, but:

• HR emailed him at an address he couldn’t access
• No effort was made to identify roles or speak to hiring managers
• No discussion took place about preferences, flexibility, or even potential demotion

The EAT agreed that this was a process no reasonable employer would have followed. The tribunal also declined to apply a Polkey deduction, finding that had proper steps been taken, Mr Kennedy would likely have secured another internal role.

What does this mean in practice?

Employers are not required to create a role, although employees often argue that they should. But they should actively explore whether there is anything suitable elsewhere in the business or wider group. That includes:

• Checking for vacancies in other teams or locations
• Speaking with the employee about their preferences and what other roles they may be prepared to do

I recall a tribunal case where the employer said, “We didn’t discuss that role because clearly the employee wouldn’t want to do it.” The judge asked, “Did you ask him?” The fatal answer of “no” rendered the dismissal unfair. That said, we did receive a significant Polkey deduction so it wasn’t all good for my client.

• Flagging their availability to other managers
• Considering lower-graded or fixed-term roles
• Offering support with applications

Simply telling an employee to check the vacancies page is not enough.

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