Can your employer make you redundant while you are off sick?
Yes. Sick leave does not pause the business or stop redundancy from happening. If a genuine redundancy situation exists, you can be included whether you are at your desk or signed off.
What your employer cannot do is treat your absence as a reason to make you redundant. Redundancy has a specific legal meaning: the business is closing, your workplace is closing, or fewer people are needed to do work of a particular kind. If the real reason for dismissal is your sickness rather than a true redundancy, that may be unlawful.
Your employer should follow a fair process whether you are at work or off sick. This usually includes:
- Warning you that your role is at risk
- Consulting with you before any final decision
- Using fair and objective selection criteria where a pool of employees is involved
- Considering suitable alternative work
- Giving proper notice and paying any redundancy money owed
Being off sick does not give your employer permission to skip these steps. If they rush the process or fail to consult properly because you are not in the office, you may have grounds to challenge the decision.
Answer a few questions about your situation and find out whether your redundancy is fair and legal. Get clear guidance on your rights in under two minutes.
Try our Redundancy Rights Checker free, here on this site →Consultation and selection when you are unwell
Consultation can still happen during sick leave, but your employer should think about how it is handled. You may be able to join meetings by phone or video, exchange information in writing, or have a trade union representative help you.
If you are not well enough to take part straight away, ask for adjustments: delaying a meeting, allowing more time to respond, or providing documents in advance. A fit note from your GP can support any request for more time. A consultation that happens only on paper, with no real chance for you to respond, is unlikely to be fair.
If your employer is choosing between employees in a selection pool, the criteria should be objective. Sickness absence is sometimes included, but counting it against you can cause problems if your sickness is linked to a disability under the Equality Act 2010, or relates to pregnancy. Penalising absence in these situations may amount to discrimination. Absences for maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave should not count against you either.
If you have been off with a long term condition, ask how absence has been measured and whether adjustments have been made for disability related absence.
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Extra protection and pay
Some employees have additional protection. If you are on maternity leave, you have a right to be offered any suitable alternative vacancy ahead of other employees at risk. Similar protections apply for adoption and shared parental leave, and for a period after returning to work.
If your sickness is connected to a disability, your employer should consider reasonable adjustments throughout the process: changes to how meetings are held, the format of written information, or time given for responses.
If you are receiving sick pay when redundancy is announced, this normally continues under the same rules as before. Whether you receive contractual sick pay, Statutory Sick Pay or nothing depends on your contract and how long you have been off. For current SSP rates and rules, see GOV.UK.
Redundancy pay is calculated based on your age, length of service and weekly pay. There is a statutory cap on the weekly pay figure, published on GOV.UK. Notice pay is also due. If you are off sick during your notice period, what you receive depends on whether your contractual notice is at least one week longer than your statutory notice. Where it is, your employer can pay sick pay only. Where it is not, you are usually entitled to full pay during statutory notice. The position is fiddly, so check carefully or seek advice.
When something feels wrong
Warning signs that the process may not have been fair:
- You were told about redundancy after the decision had already been made
- No real consultation took place
- Selection criteria focus heavily on your absence
- Other employees doing similar work were not considered
- You were not offered suitable alternative roles that existed
If any of these apply, you may have grounds for a claim of unfair dismissal or discrimination. Time limits for tribunal claims are short: usually three months less one day from the date your employment ended. You will normally need to notify Acas for early conciliation before issuing a claim, so act quickly.
If you are unsure whether your employer followed the right process, speak to Acas, Citizens Advice or a solicitor who handles employment law. The Equality and Human Rights Commission can help where discrimination is a concern. Your trade union, if you belong to one, can support you too. Taking advice early often makes it easier to put things right.
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