AI-Driven Redundancy Is Already Happening
Artificial intelligence tools are now capable of performing tasks that previously required human workers across a significant range of industries: legal document review, financial analysis, customer service, data processing, content production, accounting, coding, and administrative roles. UK employers are already restructuring workforces in response. The process is accelerating. If your employer has announced restructuring, eliminated your role, or suggested that your function is being automated, the same redundancy law applies as in any other redundancy situation -- but the specific circumstances of AI-driven redundancy create particular issues worth understanding.
What Is a Genuine Redundancy
Redundancy is defined by the Employment Rights Act 1996 as a dismissal where the requirement for employees to carry out work of a particular kind has ceased or diminished, or is expected to cease or diminish. If your employer is implementing AI tools that mean they no longer require a human to perform your role -- or require fewer humans -- that is capable of being a genuine redundancy situation. The employer does not need to prove that the business will fail without the change. They need to show that the requirement for work of the kind you were doing has genuinely reduced.
What You Are Entitled to in Any Redundancy
If you have two years of continuous service, you are entitled to statutory redundancy pay calculated using your age, length of service, and weekly pay (capped at £643 per week as of April 2025). You are entitled to your contractual notice period. You are entitled to be consulted individually before the decision is confirmed. You are entitled to be considered for any suitable alternative vacancies in the organisation. You are entitled to time off to look for new work during your notice period.
What a Fair Redundancy Process Requires
Consultation is the most important element. Your employer must consult with you meaningfully before the decision to make you redundant is confirmed. Consultation is not telling you you are at risk and then confirming redundancy a week later. It means genuinely engaging with you about the reasons for the redundancy, the selection process if more than one person is at risk, and alternatives to redundancy. If the employer is using AI to replace your role, they should be discussing with you whether there are other roles you could move to, whether retraining is an option, and what the timeline looks like.
If 20 or more employees are being made redundant at one establishment within 90 days, collective consultation is also required -- at least 30 days before the first dismissal, or 45 days where 100 or more are being dismissed. From 2027, the collective consultation threshold changes to apply across the whole organisation rather than one establishment. This is particularly significant for AI-driven redundancies which may affect roles across multiple sites simultaneously.
The Selection Process Must Be Fair
If more than one person holds a similar role and not all are being made redundant, the selection process must be fair and objective. Scoring systems based on attendance, performance, skills, and qualifications are common and generally acceptable if applied consistently. A selection process that appears objective but is actually designed to target particular individuals -- for example, those who have raised concerns, those on flexible working, or those who are older -- is not a fair selection process and the resulting dismissal will be unfair.
AI Replacement Is Not Automatically Fair
The fact that your employer has purchased an AI tool to perform your function does not automatically make your redundancy fair. The redundancy must still follow a fair process. The consultation must be genuine. The selection -- if applicable -- must be objective. Suitable alternative vacancies must be considered. A failure at any of these stages renders the dismissal unfair regardless of whether the underlying business reason is legitimate. Many AI-driven restructuring programmes are moving at a speed that does not allow for proper consultation. That speed makes the redundancy unfair even if the underlying reason is genuine.
Age Discrimination in AI Redundancy
AI-driven redundancy exercises disproportionately affect certain categories of worker. If older workers whose roles are automated are disproportionately selected for redundancy compared to younger workers who are then retrained on the new tools, that may constitute indirect age discrimination. Similarly, if the training for new AI-assisted roles is offered to younger workers but not to older ones, that is potentially discriminatory. Age is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 and claims for age discrimination are uncapped and available from day one.
What to Do If Your Role Is at Risk
As soon as you are placed at risk of redundancy, ask in writing for the selection criteria being used, the pool of employees at risk, the timetable for the process, and details of any suitable alternative vacancies. These are questions you have the right to ask and the employer should answer. Keep records of every meeting, every communication, and every document related to the process. If you are not satisfied with the consultation -- if it feels like a rubber stamp rather than a genuine process -- say so in writing during the consultation period. That written record matters significantly if the matter proceeds to tribunal.