Role redundancy occurs in a business when a position is no longer needed (and the role will no longer be filled by any person in the business), or if a business becomes insolvent or bankrupt.
In Australia, roles that are no longer needed can be made redundant for genuine operational reasons including things like the introduction of new technology, the slowdown in sales/reduction in revenue, site closures/relocations, or changes to the structure of the business. It is important to remember that businesses make roles redundant, not people. This means problem performance with an individual cannot (and should not) be managed through role redundancy.
If a role is made redundant, it can mean the person in this role may no longer have a job and will, therefore, have their contract of employment terminated from the business. This can be an extremely challenging experience for those impacted and therefore it is it critical for leaders to understand:
