Alternative Employment
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This situation arises when a job has been identified as redundant and the individual informed of that situation. Many employers are reluctant to loose able members of staff. In those circumstance most employers look to find if they have any alternative employment.
If an employee is offered 'suitable alternative employment' when their job has been declared redundant they are obliged to take that work. If they unreasonably refuse to take that work they are not entitled to a redundancy payment.
In practice few companies will force a truly reluctant employee to take alternative work but if that possibility may occur it should be made clear at the start of the redundancy exercise. For example the first communication to staff should say:
"Whilst your job may be redundant we are confident there will be alternative work and you will be considered for that. It is only if no alternative work is available that you will be considered redundant".
Whether the offer was reasonable alternative employment is ultimately down to an Employment Tribunal. But generally the offer should be of equivalent status, requiring a similar level of education and knowledge and not lead to a significant drop in earnings. If the location of the alternative work is different the employer should consider if travel to work is unreasonable in the circumstances of that employee.
Trial Period
An employee who is under notice of redundancy has a statutory right to a trial period of four weeks in an alternative job where the provisions of the new contract differ from the original contract, the period to begin when the previous contract has ended.
The effect of the trial period is to give the employee a chance to decide whether the new job is suitable without necessarily losing the right to a redundancy payment. The four-week trial period can be extended for retraining purposes by an agreement which is in writing, specifies the date on which the trial period ends and sets out the employee's terms and conditions after it ends. If the employee works beyond the end of the four week period or the jointly agreed extended period any redundancy entitlement will be lost because the employee will be deemed to have accepted the new employment. Employers should communicate this to the employee when the alternative job offer is made.
The employer should also use the trial period to assess the employee's suitability. Should the employer wish to end the new contract within the four weeks for a reason connected with the new job, the employee will preserve the right to a redundancy payment under the old contract. If the dismissal was due to a reason unconnected with redundancy, the employee may lose that entitlement.