§ 3. Sir Richard Glynasked the Minister of Labour what definition governs the administrative practice in his Department for a termination of employment on the grounds of redundancy.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour (Mr. William Whitelaw)A distinction between termination of employment on grounds of redundancy and termination on other grounds is not required for purposes of paying unemployment benefit and the question of a definition does not arise for the purposes of administration.
Firms with redundancy or severance pay schemes usually define the circumstances in which severance pay will be given. Generally this is when a worker is discharged because the employer decides that the work he has been doing is no longer required and where there is no immediate prospect of his being reengaged.
§ Sir Richard GlynI thank my hon. Friend for that Answer. Would he agree that it is most desirable that there should be a firm definition of redundancy which would be understood both within his Department and generally outside? Will he take steps to make the definition that he has now given more widely known?
§ Mr. WhitelawMy hon. Friend will appreciate that the definition I gave was merely related to the normal practice of firms which have severance pay schemes. The question of the definition of redundancy in a wider sense is now one of the 408 complicated matters which is being considered. I shall certainly take note of what my hon. Friend says.