The Employment Relations Authority has upheld an application from an employee for interim reinstatement following their dismissal for redundancy.

The employee was made redundant following a restructure process after her employer and work colleagues found it increasingly difficult to work with her and she failed to follow instructions.

Instead of going down a performance or disciplinary path the employer chose to do a restructure to do away with the employee’s role.

The ERA held that on balance the employee should be reinstated to her role pending a full hearing on the merits of her claim.

The primary remedy of reinstatement has been re-established under the Employment Relations Act and the employee had shown she had a reasonable case in relation to the justification for the redundancy.

The ERA held that, although the employee was to be put back on the payroll pending a full hearing, it would not order that she actually return to her duties due to the difficulties she had with other staff and performing her duties.

The ERA commented that the employer would have been in a stronger position if it had dismissed the employee for her incapacity to do the work or for her failure to comply with lawful and reasonable directions, but they had chosen the restructure route instead.

Restructure and redundancies must be genuine and must be supported by evidence.  It does not pay to do a redundancy when the real issues are competency and discipline.

 

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