Please help regarding redundancy selection

Hi i am currently on 90 day consultation having recieved a letter of risk of redundancy, we have had to apply for our jobs and face a skills matrix which will determine whether or not we will get an interview for the positions. The matrix goes on absence, timekeeping, attitude etc from the past year however if some employers have been with the company less time should this be adjusted accordingly or is it fair to do this. Also another colleague has been on maternity leave over this time and returned early is it fair for her assessment to cover the period she was off before she returned??? thankyou in advance

In terms of the employees who have been there less time - yes they should be judged on exactly the same basis as everyone else. Maternity leave, however, is not an asence so it cannot be counted, but other than that, all other things stand equal and she should be judged on the same basis as everyone else.

thankyou for your reply, so the employer is right to assess them for part of the time they were absent?? The employer is just totalling the amount of days up and using them to work out scores which is why i wondered whether it was fair instead of working out averages etc thanks again

Yes it is fair. The employer can set any crietria they wish and it is fair as long as it is consistently applied. What you describe is common place. The exception is the maternity leave, which cannot be classed as an absence. They may also choose to disregard some or all of disability related illness - although that is less clear cut than maternity, and there is an element of lattitude. But other than that, provided the criteria is applied in the same way to everyone they do not have to average it out. You could argue equally that judging people on skills or attitude when they have been there a shorter time isn't exactly fair either - but the same applies. Provided they treat nobody differently then it's fair.