Was your redundancy fair? Get the evidence.

You can find out what information your employer used to make their decision to make your job redundant. You may be able to use it as evidence to mount an appeal.

Why should I get evidence for my appeal?

You can gather evidence for your appeal so that you're in the best position possible to challenge your job’s redundancy.

Remember, your employer isn’t allowed to make your job redundant over other roles for any of the following reasons:

  • You’ve asked for your rights at work
  • You took action about health and safety
  • You called your employer out for doing something illegal
  • You’ve been on jury service
  • You’re in a trade union
  • You work part-time

So, if you've worked at the company for at least two years and you think that your employer didn't follow a fair redundancy process, you’ve got grounds to challenge it.

To gather evidence for your appeal, you should send a subject access request.

What will I get from a subject access request?

You should receive:

  • Employment records
  • Internal communications from HR
  • Evaluations
  • Other material that might help

Your employer should also provide every document they have on you except for:

  • Documents including information about other people (but they can redact names)
  • Documents containing legal advice made to the company
  • Information that’s 'disproportionate'

Under GDPR law, which is applicable in the UK and EU, your ex-employer must send you all the personal data that they have on you within 30 days.

Some common questions

How do I send a subject access request (SAR)?

The easiest way to find out where your information is by sending a request through Rightly:

  • Search for any company
  • Enter your basic details so that they can confirm your identity
  • Check your email and send your request

What can you expect after you send your request?

Your request simply connects you to all of the companies you select. They’ll link you to their own forms and processes for you to complete. Only your name and email address is required to send these requests, but companies will likely ask you for more information to make sure you're you.

They should confirm what personal information of yours they have within 30 days.

So I don't need a subject access request template?

No - they tend to be of varying quality and take a lot of effort. That's why we made Rightly, so that things can be as safe and time-effective as possible for you to have more control over your data.

How long until a company responds to my request?

After the company has received your request, they have to reply in full within 30 days, or give a valid reason for asking for an extension. However, we're glad to say that most companies normally reply within a week.

Responses from companies are likely to come directly into your inbox.

If you have any questions, or have any difficulty at all with how companies respond, our friendly support team is here to help!

What if they don't reply?

They have to reply by law. You can ask any company if they have your personal data, even if you don't know for sure whether or not they have it. They have to tell you what they have, as well as how and why they are using it. This is thanks to your ‘right of access’ under GDPR law.

How long can a company store my data for?

There is no specific time limit on how long a company can hold your personal data. Under GDPR, your information should simply not be kept for any longer than necessary.

While a company should be able to justify the length of time that your data is stored, whether or not this is acceptable depends on what the data was collected for in the first place.

For instance, a company can keep hold of employment contract data for a total of 6 years since this is the window of time in which a contract breach claim could be made.

However, when it comes to job applicant CVs for example, these can only be stored for a maximum of 6 months, based on this being the length of time in which a candidate could file a discrimination claim.