what's "redundant"

[NACL]

okay, does this mean "laid off". like "let go" but not "fired" (sacked). who'd have thought there'd be a language barrier when we are all typing in english!! :D

[willa]

It's my understanding that to be redundant means to exceed what is necessary; to be superfluous. In an employment context, it would mean "no longer being needed."

[NACL]

yeah, i am guessing here. i have been reading through some of the other questions, and this term popped-up a couple of times. each time it seems to be connected with job-loss. but the term they seem to use for "fired" is "sacked", so i figured there had to be a difference in the severity of the dis-employment, so to speak. i am thinking like a "lay off" or "down-sizing".

[willa]

I think you're right in that it's closer to being "laid off." What seems to be key is that redundancy doesn't imply there's anything wrong with the employee or his/her job performance; it's just that the job itself is no longer necessary. When my husband's company merged with a competing firm, a lot of people were downsized due to job redunancy as the new company refocused on a narrower set of services.

[littleoldme]

Yes, it definitely refers to being laid off as in "let go".. Strictly speaking, it's the job that is made redundant rather than the person, although it is commonly used to describe the status of the person as well. As someone who has suffered this fate in the past, it annoys me greatly when I hear people talk about those who have lost their jobs in this way as having been "sacked". To be "sacked" implies either wrongdoing or a lack of competence, whereas being made redundant implies neither.

[NACL]

i realize that this is a uk based site with most of the users also in the uk. i am an american in america. i have not ever heard the term "redundant" used in terms of employment (or lack thereof). generally, it is used to describe a written passage. like "i am a very happy person. i am very glad to be here today. i am very excited to use the answer bank because i have found it to be very helpful thus far." - my continued use of the word "very" makes my statement redundant. here, when the job is eliminated, rather than the person, i think they use the word "obsolete". or if the company is getting smaller (new management, or just trying to lower cost of business) they say you lost your job due to "downsizing". if they are just cutting people across the board they say you were "laid off". and if you cant do your job to expectation or they say you are "fired" (i guess this is like "sacked"). sometimes, if you have a job with a probationary period, of like 90 days, they can just say "um, dont come back tomorrow. take your stuff with you on the way out. bye." and they dont have to call it anything. :D

[buildersmate]

Redundancy has a legal meaning under English Law because it is one of the valid legal reasons why an employer may fairly terminate an employee's contract of employment, leading to a fair dismissal. There are a few other 'fair' reasons for dismissal, 'conduct' and 'capability' are two of them. They all lead to the same thing - dismissal - aka 'fired' or 'sacked' if you read certain sections of the popular press. Redundancy has too syllables for their readers to understand.

I thought 'laid off' had another meaning in an employment sense - when an employer had a right under an employment contract to temporary demand an employee to cease working, coupled maybe with no pay (or reduced pay). Example - a strike in XYZ car component supplier Ltd. has resulted in workers at Ford being laid off. Such employment contracts aren't so common these days in the UK.