Redundancy Selection Criteria Guidance - August 2026

2. Method of Selection

The Authority will consider the most appropriate selection method, taking account of any particular requirements of the organisation at this time.

Where a service restructure results in potential redundancies of existing roles but also creates new roles, the method of selection for new roles will be in line with the Authority’s Restructure Policy and Recruitment and Selection procedures to appoint from within the eligible pool of employees.

Where there are no significant changes to roles, but there is a diminishing need for these roles, the method of selection will generally be by using a redundancy selection matrix, assessing employees against objective selection criteria.

3. Selection Pool

The Authority will identify how many roles are at risk of redundancy and will determine a pool from which employees will be selected. The Authority will ensure that the pool for selection has been fairly defined. The pool will normally consist of employees who carry out the same, or similar, work and perform jobs that are interchangeable, whether or not in the same department or location, or work/shift pattern. When determining the redundancy pool the Authority will take into account circumstances such as:

• The work that employees carry out on a day-to-day basis;

• The proximity of sites/bases; and

• Where employees carry out their work on a regular basis.

In certain circumstances, it will not be appropriate to determine a pool from which to select employees for redundancy, for example where there is only one employee whose role is affected or where the whole service will cease.

4. Selection Criteria

Once the Authority has determined the selection pool, it will apply criteria to decide which employees from the pool will be provisionally selected for redundancy. The Authority will ensure that, as far as is possible, the criteria applied are objective, in that that they are not based on the subjective opinion of the individuals applying the criteria.

The Authority will, strive to use criteria that are measurable and supportable by documentary records, data or other evidence, for example attendance, performance appraisal and supervision records (where appropriate), capability or disciplinary records etc.

In collective redundancy situations, selection criteria and weighting will be drawn up in consultation with recognised Trade Unions and will be agreed by the relevant Director (or their nominated representative) and Assistant Chief Executive (People, Digital and Policy) or their nominated representative. Care must be taken in agreeing criteria to ensure that it is not directly or indirectly discriminatory.

Some selection criteria are automatically unfair. The Authority will not select an employee for redundancy based on any of the following reasons:

• Pregnancy, including all reasons relating to maternity.

• Family, including parental leave, paternity leave (birth and adoption), adoption leave or time off for dependants

• Acting as an employee representative.

• Acting as a trade union representative.

• Joining or not joining a trade union.

• Being a part-time or fixed-term employee.

• Their age, disability, gender reassignment, gender identity and gender expression, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, belief or non-belief, sex and sexual orientation.

• Pay and working hours, including the Working Time Regulations, annual leave and the National Minimum Wage.

• Asserting a statutory right.

The selection criteria that the Authority uses will depend on a number of factors, including the needs of the service at the time and the roles under consideration.

The following list gives examples of the criteria that the Authority may apply:

• Attendance: To determine an employee's attendance record, the Authority will examine attendance records in the 3 years leading up to the commencement of the redundancy consultation. The Authority will not take account of absences due to pregnancy, maternity, other family-friendly leave or disability.

• Disciplinary: To determine an employee's disciplinary record, the Authority will examine personnel files for formal warnings and recorded informal disciplinary concerns identified through the informal/formal stages of the Disciplinary Policy*.

• Capability records: To determine an employee's capability record, the Authority will examine personnel files for formal improvement notes and recorded capability concerns identified through the informal/formal stages of the Capability Policy*.

• Job performance: To determine an employee's performance record, the Authority will examine appraisal documentation and supervision records (where appropriate).

• Relevant knowledge and skills: The Authority will undertake a knowledge and skills audit within the established pool relevant to the job role, service users, customers and the Authority.

• Relevant qualifications and training: To determine an employee’s relevant qualification and training record, the Authority will examine personnel files and Learning & Development records. This may also be identified via a skills audit.

• Length of service (only as one of a number of criteria and following the completion of the Equality Impact Assessment).

The particular selection criteria used will be determined, depending on any relevant business requirements, at that time, taking into consideration any need to retain specific knowledge, skills and a balanced workforce.

(* Note: Recorded disciplinary/capability concerns identified through the informal/formal stages of the Disciplinary / Capability policies can be in the form of letters or memos to individuals; files notes; diary notes or minutes from meetings. Incidents for which there is no written record are not sufficient. Records of incidents which have never been raised with the individual concerned will not be used).

5. Application of Selection Criteria

The Authority will score employees against the selection criteria in a reasonable, fair and consistent manner. At least two managers will apply the criteria independently with advice from a HR Business Partner, and the scores will be added up and an average applied.

The Authority will not apply the selection criteria in a discriminatory manner, for example, based on part-time status, pregnancy or maternity leave. If an employee within the pool for selection is disabled, the Authority will consider reasonable adjustments to the selection procedure to remove any disadvantage that an employee with a disability would otherwise face.

6. Scoring and Weighting

The Authority will use a redundancy selection matrix to score each employee. The matrix will set out the criteria against which employees will be assessed in a clear and transparent manner. It will set out the scoring ranges and how much weight or importance the authority attaches to each criterion.

The Authority will score employees against the selection criteria by considering documentary evidence or other knowledge obtained about the employee. Employees will not be scored by comparing them against each other. It is important that scores are supported by accurate records and managers are required to provide documentary evidence for this purpose.

It may be necessary for the Authority to adjust scores assigned to employees to avoid unfair treatment or discrimination, for example, if an employee has had periods of absence for a reason relating to a disability, the Authority may make reasonable adjustments to the scoring to remove any disadvantage that the employee would otherwise face.

7. Making an Independent Assessment

Once the managers involved in the redundancy selection have been identified, copies of the redundancy criteria and scoring matrix will be issued and managers will be required to make independent assessments of each employee against the agreed criteria.

Managers should consider the specific details of the criteria and make judgements, based upon evidence, about the score which an employee is assigned.

When making judgements about performance, appraisal/review documentation should be examined and performance against targets should be measured. If during the selection process it becomes clear that employee performance records are incomplete for one or more employee, the performance criteria should be removed as a selection criterion.

If using knowledge and skills as selection criteria, the specific requirements in relation to these areas should be identified at the outset of the process, so that fair and consistent judgements about individual employees can be made.

8. The Moderation Meeting

Once managers have made independent assessments of employees and have assigned scores appropriately, a moderation meeting should take place to agree the final scores. The scoring managers will attend this meeting; with a HR Business Partner, who will advise on the moderation ensuring that the decisions made can be justified based on the information which has been assessed.

9. Employee Representations

Once employees have been scored against the relevant selection criteria and assigned an overall score, they will be ranked according to their scores. This will enable the Authority to make a provisional selection for redundancy.

An employee who is declared redundant on the basis of the selection criteria has the right to be provided with the breakdown of their completed redundancy matrix, showing how they scored against each criterion and their overall score and limited information about their position on the matrix relative to other employees in the selection pool. This is to enable the employee to review the completed redundancy matrix.

Employees will be invited to attend individual consultation meetings to discuss how their score was arrived at. They will be able to raise any concerns, objections or challenges about their score and raise any other matters that they see fit about the redundancy situation. Employees have the right to be accompanied by a recognised trade union official or work colleague at this formal consultation meeting.

The Authority will give serious consideration to any representations made by the employee, but the ultimate decision on selection rests with the Authority.

Following the individual consultation meetings, the Authority will inform the employee of its decision.

10. Notification of Selection for Redundancy

After full consultation, any employee who has been selected for redundancy will be invited to a formal meeting to confirm their dismissal and to agree any terms in relation to the redundancy. Employees have the right to be accompanied by a companion, i.e. a recognised trade union official or work colleague at this formal dismissal meeting.

The Authority will confirm its decision in writing and the employee will be given the right of appeal against this decision.

11. Appeal

An employee who has been selected for redundancy and is dissatisfied with the way in which the Authority has applied the selection criteria, or who believes that they have been unfairly disadvantaged by the selection criteria or has not been given a fair opportunity to put forward representation; or who has been dismissed on the grounds of redundancy can appeal as outlined within the Redundancy Policy.

12. Ensuring Equality of Opportunity

This guidance must be applied consistently to all employees irrespective of race, colour, ethnic or national origins (including citizenship), language, disability, religion, belief or non-belief, age, sex, gender reassignment, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, parental or marital/civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity.

If you have any equality and diversity concerns in relation to the application of this procedure, please contact a member of the HR Team who will, if necessary, ensure the policy/procedure is reviewed accordingly.

If you require this information is an alternative format, please contact CHR@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

Appendix 1 - Selection Criteria Descriptions

Full details here:    Appendix 1 - Selection Criteria Descriptions

Appendix 2 - Redundancy Selection Matrix

Full details here:   Appendix 2 - Redundancy Selection Matrix