Redundancy is defined at common law as a situation where an employee's position becomes surplus to the needs of the employer. A redundancy is treated by the Courts as a dismissal, therefore it must be genuine and carried out in a procedurally fair way.
Redundancy is a form of dismissal where the employer says your position is no longer needed. Even if the business decision is genuine, the employer must follow a fair process and the outcome must be one a fair and reasonable employer could have reached (section 103A - test of justification).
A "genuine redundancy" is not about whether you are a good employee - it is about whether the employer genuinely no longer needs the job to be done in the same way. If redundancy is used as a pretext to remove a person, it can be an unjustified dismissal.
There is no automatic statutory redundancy compensation. Entitlement usually depends on your employment agreement (or sometimes a workplace policy or established practice).
If you are facing redundancy (or have already been made redundant), we can assess whether the redundancy was genuine and whether the employer followed a fair process under
section 103A, and if not, raise a Personal Grievance (PG) and pursue appropriate remedies.
Employee Case Form
![SUTTER v LIVING WATERS MEDICAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED [2025] NZERA 485 - A costs determination was made.](/Images/site/EmploymentAdvocatesAucklandCard.jpg)
A costs determination was made. A year into her employment, Living Waters invited Ms Sutter to a catch up meeting and told her that her Practice Nurse role was being made redundant.
The Authority ordered remedies and addressed unjustified dismissal issues. In April 2024 Ms Ku's employment was terminated for redundancy.
The Authority ordered remedies and addressed unjustified dismissal issues. Terms of employment relating to redundancy [18] Ms Pink's IEA included the following agreement about what would happen in a redundancy proposal situation.
A costs determination was made. One set of allegations arises from complaints made by Mr Trail's line manager - these complaints form part of the evidence for the investigation of this employment relationship problem.
The Authority ordered remedies and addressed unjustified dismissal issues. He says the decision to make him redundant was predetermined because there had already been resignations in the team negating the need to reduce the overall team numbers.
The Authority ordered remedies and addressed unjustified dismissal issues (partly successful). However, she was presented with an unsigned letter of resignation which had been prepared by Hopkins and dated 8 November 2023.
A penalty determination was made. Ms Stillman says her dismissal on the basis of redundancy was not genuine, in that it lacked substantive justification and was procedurally deficient.
The Authority ordered remedies and addressed unjustified dismissal issues. Mr and Mrs van Heerden were both advised their positions had been disestablished and their employment had been terminated on the grounds of redundancy during a meeting held with them both on 30 January...
