Has the "last in, first out" rule fallen into disfavour when selecting people for redundancy? I understand that it is now felt to fall foul of the employment equality legislation in that it favours older staff. If you are being selected for redundancy on this basis alone, is it challengeable?

The use of the “last in, first out” or “LIFO” rule as it is more commonly referred to, continues to be a popular mechanism used by employers to select employees for redundancy. In certain organisations an employer may be bound to follow alternative selection criteria.

However, in the absence of such criteria LIFO is often the default criterion which is adopted. That is not to say, however, that this method of selecting people is risk free and particular care should be taken by an employer in using the LIFO selection criteria. The most recent hires within an organisation often tend to be younger than those longer serving employees. As a result, the use of the LIFO rule by an employer may