Redundancy, restructure and job redesign: documentation and consultation

Restructures, redundancies and role redesigns are related but distinct. A restructure changes how work is organised; a redundancy is the consequence for a role that is no longer required; a role redesign changes the duties of a role that continues to exist. Treating them as the same process produces confusion and risk; treating them as related stages of the same program produces coherence.

The starting point is clarity about what is actually being done. Decisions about consultation, redeployment, communication and documentation flow from that clarity.

A documented business case — the operational drivers, the options considered, the financial position and the workforce impact — is the foundation for everything that follows. It is the record that supports the consultation conversation, the redeployment assessment and the eventual decision.

Decision frameworks should be defined before the program begins. Who decides what, on what evidence, with what approval — these questions are far harder to answer once the program is underway.

Consultation obligations vary by instrument and by topic, but the underlying expectation is consistent: consultation should occur at a point where input can genuinely influence the outcome, with the people who will be affected, in a way that allows feedback to be considered.

Consultation that is performative rather than genuine is a common source of dispute. The discipline of documenting what was consulted on, when, with whom and how feedback was considered is the most reliable way to demonstrate the substance of the process.

Redeployment assessment should be active and evidenced. The roles considered, the criteria for suitability, the assessment against those criteria and the outcome for each affected employee should be recorded. Where redeployment is not available, the reasoning for that conclusion should be documented.

Suitable alternative role analysis should include consideration of part-time, hybrid and modified arrangements as well as direct redeployment.

Role redesign should consider workload, classification, support arrangements and the controls needed for any new psychosocial hazards the new role configuration creates. Communications should follow a planned sequence — leaders, managers, affected employees, the broader workforce — with calibrated messaging at each stage.

A short post-implementation review captures what worked, what did not and what should be done differently next time. This is the most reliable way to build organisational capability for change programs over time.

AWS supports employers across business case development, consultation design, redeployment process, role design, communications and post-implementation review. Engagements are structured to integrate with existing project, HR and WHS governance.