Potential redundancy question - employer's conduct

[badhorsey]

Hello, wondering if anyone can advise on this.

I have a friend who was a designer in a small studio, but was moved up to a project management role about a year and a half ago. The company is now facing financial difficultites and are looking to make him redundant via a restructure. However - the restructure only appears to affect his role, the duties of which they intend to share amongst other staff.

They have effectively undermined his role by already allocating his functions to other staff members without discussion with him.

Where does he stand legally? There are two other designers both of whom started some time after him. If he suggested that they make one of them redundant and move him back to his former role, would they have legitimate cause to refuse? Can a company partially restructure in this manner just to shed one person?

[buildersmate]

I suggest you get your friend to trawl through this little lot.
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/de tail?r.l1=1073858787&r.l3=1074019927&r.lc=en&r .t=RESOURCES&type=RESOURCES&itemId=1073792400& r.i=1073792401&r.l2=1073876974&r.s=sc
I can't explain it all in under 2000 words limit on here - nor do we know the exact circumstances. The straight answer to your question is that 1 person can be impacted by redundancy - though employers have to be really careful about where they draw around the 'pool' (read the gumf to see what I mean by the pool).
If he is keen on saving his job, then offering to be redeployed to the old role (and salary) might be a good tactic. The employer must follow a fair process (outlined in the gumph) including consulting with the employees impacted - what you describe does not sound like proper consultation to me (if they have discussed how to carve up his job with others).
Also worth ringing ACAS for their specific advice on his case.

[buildersmate]

We know about similar links, Zac.
Sorry about that - Zacs answer not in place at the time.