Rule · ERA 1996 s.141 / s.138

Suitable alternative employment

If your employer offers a suitable alternative role, you have a choice: accept it (with a 4-week trial), reject it for objectively reasonable reasons (and keep your redundancy), or reject it unreasonably (and lose your redundancy).

What makes an alternative role 'suitable'

Suitability is objective. It looks at the nature of the work, the terms (pay, hours, location, status), the conditions, and your personal circumstances. A role at significantly lower pay, much further from home, or at a meaningful drop in status is unlikely to be suitable. The test is set out in ERA 1996 s.141.

The 4-week trial period

You are entitled to a 4-week trial in the new role without losing your right to redundancy if it does not work out (ERA 1996 s.138). The 4 weeks start when you begin the new role. If you terminate the trial within those 4 weeks for a reason connected to the role's suitability, your original redundancy entitlement is preserved.

A longer trial is possible by written agreement, signed before the trial starts, and must specify the trial end date and the terms on termination.

When refusal is reasonable

ACAS guidance is the cleanest summary: suitable alternative employment. Common reasonable refusal grounds: long extra commute, childcare arrangements no longer feasible, significant pay drop, materially different skills required, demotion in status.