Turning down a demotion dressed up as “suitable alternative employment” does not cost you your redundancy pay.
“Employee's refusal of the alternative role found reasonable. Entitlement to redundancyA dismissal that occurs when your employer no longer needs the work you do, either because the business is closing, a workplace is closing, or the requirement for employees to carry out that kind of w... pay preserved.”
You do not have to accept a demotion dressed up as suitable alternative employment just to protect your redundancy pay.
- Whether an alternative role is suitable, and whether your refusal of it was reasonable, are two separate questions. Equal pay does not settle either of them.
- A genuine loss of status or skill level can make your refusal reasonable, even where the pay matches.
- You are entitled to a four-week trial period in any alternative role, without losing your right to treat it as unsuitable if it does not work out, under section 138 of the Employment Rights Act 1996The primary piece of legislation setting out employees rights in the UK, including the right not to be unfairly dismissed, the right to a written statement of employment particulars, and rights relati....
The situation
A skilled machine operator with ten years in the same specialist role was told her job was redundant. Her employer offered her a different role instead, doing basic assembly work at the same rate of pay. She turned it down. Her employer argued that because the pay was the same, she had unreasonably refused suitable alternative work, and should lose her redundancy pay entirely.
What the tribunal found
The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that suitability and reasonableness are two separate questions. A role can be suitable in general terms and still be reasonable for a specific employee to refuse, because of what it would mean for them: a loss of status, a step down in skill level, or a change that does not fit their circumstances. Equal pay does not automatically make a role suitable.
Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd v Yates. [1981] IRLR 21. Employment Appeal Tribunal. 1981.