Table of Contents
What is Redeployment?
The Cambridge Dictionary defines redeployment as:
the act of moving employees, soldiers, equipment, etc., to a different place or using them in a more effective way
Employees may be moved from one role to another within a business for several reasons, including professional development and to fill a skills gap within a team. However, one of the leading causes of redeployment is to avoid redundancies. We will focus on this type of redeployment here.
When someone is offered redeployment, the new job role is usually – but not always – similar to their current one in terms of pay and responsibilities.
What is the Redeployment Trial Period?
When redeployment happens as part of a redundancy process, there is a legal requirement for a 4-week trial period. The trial period allows the employee to decide if the new role is a suitable alternative to their current role.
If your new role involves training, the trial period can be extended. Any extension must be agreed in writing before the trial period starts.
Benefits of Redeployment
There are several benefits to keeping individuals employed by the company:
- It avoids redundancy, which is highly stressful for the individuals concerned and can be costly and time-consuming for the company
- Retains knowledge, experience and skills within the company
- Can contribute to professional development, both for the individual concerned (who may learn new skills and build their personal career development plan) and those they work within the new role (who may learn skills from their new teammate)
- It helps with morale and employee engagement, as employees feel their contribution is valued if asked to remain within the company.
Examples of Redeployment
There are many different examples of redeployment.
- A whole team moves from one department to another when a project ends.
- An individual keeps doing the same role but moves to a different department due to overstaffing in the first department or a skills gap in the second one.
- An individual employee takes on a different role within the same team due to a change in the skills required.
- An individual employee takes on a different role in a new team.
Redeployment Process Step-by-Step
Ideally, the redeployment process is regulated and outlined in your company’s handbook in a specific ‘Redeployment Policy & Procedure’. It may be included in policies covering redundancy and how the company will manage the redundancy process.
If you are being considered for redeployment as part of a redundancy process, you should experience the following steps:
- The consultation period: during this stage, you are informed that your role is at risk of redundancy. You have the legal right to talk to your employer about why you are being made redundant, any suitable alternatives, and the application process.
- Agreeing to redeployment: it needs to be clear why the redeployment meets the criteria to be a suitable option for alternative employment, how long the trial period will be and when you need to confirm you will accept the redeployment. You must also understand how the redeployment impacts your right to statutory redundancy pay.
- The redeployment trial period: this is a four-week trial period (or longer if training is required) to determine whether redeployment is the right option for you.
FAQs
What does redeploy mean in the workplace?
Redeploy means moving people or resources to a new place or task. Within a workplace, redeployment is about changing the role someone is currently doing. The role’s skills, location, responsibilities and environment can all influence this. Often, companies aim to avoid redundancy by redeploying employees.
Is redeployment the same as redundancy?
No, redundancy is the term used when the company no longer requires your current role, whereas redeployment is when the employee stays in employment and accepts a different role. The redundancy process is different to the redeployment process.
If a company makes someone redundant and does not offer deployment despite having a suitable option, the company can be open to an unfair dismissal claim.
What is an example of redeployment at work?
Companies can redeploy employees in several ways. Redeployment can involve an individual doing the same role in a new team, a new role in the same team, a new role in a new team or even the wholesale move of a team of people into a new department.
Can an employee refuse a redeployment?
An employee can refuse a redeployment option but make sure you know the potential consequences before you do so.
For example, if you are being offered a redeployment as part of a redundancy process and the role is deemed a suitable alternative to your current role, refusing the deployment may affect whether you are entitled to redundancy pay. Receiving statutory redundancy pay can depend on the fact that there is no suitable alternative role.
If an employee rejects a redeployment and has reasonable reasons for doing so, this should not affect their redundancy pay.
What Is “Suitable Alternative Employment”?
What constitutes suitable alternative employment is a legal question involving several different factors, including the alternative role itself and how similar it is to your current role, its pay and benefits, location, and the employee’s skills and experience.
Ideally, employees are encouraged to consider all their options, even if a role is not strictly viewed as a suitable alternative to employment. For some people, a role with fewer responsibilities and a lower pay grade may be a viable alternative for employees to avoid redundancy. Hiring managers within the organisation need to be aware of the redeployment process.
