Why Me? What Counts as ‘Fair Criteria’ When Being Selected For Redundancy?

Redundancy is one of the more difficult areas of employment law - not just emotionally, but legally too. If you’ve been told your role is at risk, one of the biggest questions is often: “Why me?''

In New Zealand, an employer can’t just pick and choose who to make redundant. There needs to be a genuine business reason behind the restructure, and just as importantly, the process must be fair - including how people are selected.

First things first, your employer needs to show that the redundancy is real - not just a smokescreen for performance issues or personality clashes. Common reasons include financial pressure, organisational restructuring, technological changes or outsourcing. 

Once that business reason is established, then comes the tricky part: who stays and who goes?

Your employer must use clear, fair, and objective criteria to decide who is made redundant. This means the criteria must relate to the job, not the person; they should be measurable and justifiable and; you must be told what criteria are being used and have a chance to respond.  Common examples of fair criteria include:

• Skills and qualifications

• Experience or length of service (but this can’t be the only factor)

• Performance history (based on documented records, not opinions)

• Flexibility or ability to take on a restructured role

  
  

What isn’t considered fair is making someone redundant based on personal dislike, union involvement, past complaints (especially if unresolved or unproven) or discrimination (age, gender, ethnicity, disability, etc.)

Before a final decision is made, your employer must share the proposed selection criteria with you, give you a real opportunity to comment or suggest alternatives and then genuinely consider your feedback.  This isn’t a box-ticking exercise. If you’re only told after the fact, or if your concerns were ignored, that could point to an unfair process.

If you think you were selected unfairly or that the process was biased or flawed, you may be able to raise a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal.  You might have a case if:

• The selection criteria weren’t applied equally

• You were targeted for reasons unrelated to your role

• You were denied the chance to provide feedback

Being selected for redundancy can feel deeply personal, but it shouldn’t come down to arbitrary or unfair decisions. You have the right to know how that decision was made and to be treated with dignity throughout the process. 

If something doesn’t feel right, talk to an expert.  Mathewswalker.co.nz | 0800 612 355

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