What "At Risk of Redundancy" Actually Means
When your employer tells you that you are at risk of redundancy, they are starting a formal process that carries specific legal obligations. It means the employer is proposing to make redundancies and you are among the employees who may be selected. It does not mean the decision is made. It means a selection process and consultation period must now follow before any decision is final. Your actions during this period matter significantly.
The Four Questions You Must Ask in Writing
From the moment you are placed at risk, ask your employer the following in writing and keep copies of every response.
First: what is the pool of employees at risk? The pool is the group of employees from which the redundant positions will be selected. You have a right to know who is in the pool with you. If the pool appears artificially narrow -- designed to include you while excluding others doing similar work -- that is worth challenging. A pool that contains only one person, for example, is inherently suspicious unless there is a genuine reason why only your role was affected.
Second: what are the selection criteria and how have they been scored? The criteria used to select who is made redundant must be objective and consistently applied. Common legitimate criteria include attendance record, skills, performance, and length of service. Subjective criteria such as "attitude" or "team fit" without objective measurement are much harder to defend. Ask for your scores against each criterion and the scores of others in the pool (in anonymised form).
Third: what suitable alternative vacancies exist? Your employer must consider you for any suitable alternative roles in the organisation before completing the redundancy. Ask for a list of all current vacancies. If a suitable role exists and is not offered to you, the redundancy may be unfair.
Fourth: what is the consultation timeline? You are entitled to know how long the consultation period will last and what the process will be. Statutory collective consultation minimums apply where 20 or more are at risk. Individual consultation must be genuine and not just a formality.
How to Challenge the Selection Scoring
When you receive your scores, check them carefully. Compare them against your own records -- your appraisals, your attendance record, any performance feedback you have received. If a score appears incorrect or inconsistent with your documented performance history, challenge it in writing during the consultation period. Keep the challenge focused on specific discrepancies with evidence. A vague complaint that the scoring is unfair carries little weight. A specific challenge showing that your attendance score is wrong because HR has miscounted a day of authorised leave carries significant weight.
Ask to see the scoring criteria rubric -- the document that explains how each score was awarded. If no such document exists, the scoring process was not sufficiently objective. If the rubric exists but your scores were not applied consistently with it, challenge the inconsistency.
What Consultation Must Actually Look Like
Consultation is not a meeting at which you are told the outcome. It is a genuine process of engagement. Your employer must explain the reasons for the proposed redundancies. They must listen to your representations. They must consider and respond to alternatives you propose. They must give you adequate time to respond before any decision is confirmed. If the meetings are short, perfunctory, and clearly pre-determined, that is not consultation -- and the resulting dismissal may be procedurally unfair even if the underlying business reason is genuine.
Appealing a Redundancy Decision
If you are selected for redundancy, you have the right to appeal. Exercise it. An appeal is not just a formality -- it is a genuine opportunity to have the decision reconsidered, and failure to offer an appeal process or failure by the employer to conduct a proper appeal hearing strengthens your position at tribunal. In your appeal, raise every specific concern about the process: the pool composition, the scoring, the failure to offer alternatives, any procedural shortcut. Put everything in writing.
Your Time Limit
If you are dismissed by redundancy and believe it is unfair, contact ACAS at acas.org.uk within three months less one day of your dismissal date. Do not wait until after the appeal. Register with ACAS and start early conciliation, which pauses the limitation clock, while the internal appeal process runs concurrently. If you wait for the appeal outcome before contacting ACAS, you may find your limitation period has expired.