Giving jobs to those not at risk over those at risk

[user67864]

Trying to get advice for a close friend. His company have made a lot of people redundant. They have offered more or less everyone a job but for managers it would be a 50% paycut.
There were also 20 manager roles that they could go for. So about 50 managers went for these roles. Only 2 managers got one of these 20 roles. The rest must be either external or within the company but whose job were not at risk. This seems completely unfair as I thought surely those with jobs at risk should get preference. Does anyone with employment law knowledge know if he would have a case to argue?

Bump

Have the managers who haven't been offered a management role been offered any other roles?
Have the company said that they failed the interview for management level roles?

Yes they have been told they have failed the interviews. They were asked before they took the interviews for management if they were interested in the other (much lower paid roles). Which I he more or less could have I assume.

If they have recruited 18 people externally to fill these roles rather than offer them to the managers being made redundant your friend may well have a case for unfair dismissal. He needs to consult a solicitor who specialises in employment law to get proper advice.

Thank you I will make sure he is correct that most of the jobs have gone external and advice he to seek legal advice if it's the case.

Completely depends on the skills requirement. No, employers are not obliged to offer a job to someone who does not have the skills for it even if they are at risk. They should go through a fair assessment though.