Redundancy has a statutory definition in an employment law context. s. 139 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 states:
s.139 Redundancy
(1)For the purposes of this Act an employee who is dismissed shall be taken to be dismissed by reason of redundancy if the dismissal is wholly or mainly attributable to—
(a)the fact that his employer has ceased or intends to cease—
(i)to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed by him, or
(ii)to carry on that business in the place where the employee was so employed, or
(b)the fact that the requirements of that business—
(i)for employees to carry out work of a particular kind, or
(ii)for employees to carry out work of a particular kind in the place where the employee was employed by the employer,
have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish.