How soon can an employer fill a "redundant" role?

This is a bit of a trick question as, from a legal perspective, a genuinely redundant role does not need to be subsequently filled. In fact, hiring a new recruit to fill a role that was previously confirmed as redundant would add weight to any claim from the now redundant employee that he/she was unfairly dismissed and the redundancy process was a "sham". This may be a concern to an employer in circumstances where the redundant employee did not enter into a compromise waiver agreement and is looking to bolster their claim for unfair dismissal.

It is also important for employers to be aware that re-hiring redundant employees back into their roles is not as straightforward as it seems. In