Redeployment in a Nutshell
Redeployment means moving an existing employee to a different role, department or location within the same organisation. It protects jobs and skills and avoids redundancy and recruitment costs, but it can bring retraining costs, skills mismatches and lower motivation.
Redeployment Definition
Redeployment means moving an existing employee to a different role, department or location within the same organisation. The worker stays employed. Only their job changes. Always state that the employee is not dismissed, because many students lose a mark by confusing redeployment with redundancy.
Imagine a factory closes one production line and forty skilled workers suddenly have nothing to do. The business can make them redundant, or it can move them somewhere useful. Redeployment usually happens when one area of a business shrinks while another grows, and it links to workforce planning, motivation, training and costs.
In 2020, some furloughed cabin crew from UK airlines retrained to support NHS Nightingale hospitals. That was a move to a different organisation rather than redeployment within one firm, but it shows how transferable skills such as customer care and first aid can fit a new setting.
Studying and Revising?
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Redeployment Characteristics/Features
- Internal movement: the employee stays with the same employer.
- Alternative to redundancy: it protects jobs when roles disappear.
- Often involves retraining: new tasks need new skills.
- Voluntary or required: contracts may allow the business to move staff.
- Linked to workforce planning: it matches existing staff to future needs.
- No dismissal: the employment contract continues, though terms such as role or location may change.
Examples of Redeployment
A bicycle manufacturer sees sales of traditional bikes fall while demand for electric bike servicing doubles. It moves assembly workers into the servicing department instead of making them redundant.
An insurance group finds that AI chatbots now handle many routine enquiries, while its fraud investigation team cannot recruit enough analysts. It moves call centre staff with transferable skills into fraud investigation.
A retailer closing a store offers staff roles in a nearby branch. The business avoids redundancy pay and keeps customer knowledge.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Redeployment
Advantages
Lower recruitment costs
The business avoids advertising, interviewing and agency fees, and recruitment can cost thousands per hire. These savings reduce fixed costs, which improves profit margins.
Avoids redundancy payments
Statutory redundancy pay rises with length of service. Moving a long-serving worker instead avoids this lump sum, so cash flow is protected, especially during a downturn.
Retains skills and knowledge
An experienced employee already understands the systems, products and customers. They become productive faster than a new starter, so output per worker stays higher.
Shorter induction
No company induction is needed, only job-specific training. Less time away from work means quicker contribution, and training budgets stretch further.
Improves morale and loyalty
Staff see that the firm protects jobs. Using Maslow, security needs are met. Motivated workers lower labour turnover, which cuts future recruitment costs again.
Protects reputation
Avoiding job losses creates positive press, and customers may prefer an ethical employer. The employer brand strengthens, making future recruitment easier.
Disadvantages
Retraining costs
A warehouse picker moved into customer service needs new skills. Training courses cost money and time, so short-term costs rise and profit falls.
Skills mismatch
Not every worker suits every role. A strong engineer may struggle in sales, so productivity falls and quality or customer service may suffer.
Lower motivation
If the move feels forced, staff may feel demoted. Herzberg would call this a hygiene factor problem. Dissatisfied workers may underperform or leave anyway.
Temporary loss of productivity
Every new role has a learning curve. Mistakes and slower output are likely, so unit costs rise during this period.
Missed fresh ideas
External recruits bring new thinking. Relying on existing staff can limit innovation, and competitors with new talent may move ahead.
Possible conflict
Existing team members may resent newcomers, especially if pay differs. Team cohesion weakens, and managers spend time resolving disputes rather than improving operations.
Redeployment versus Redundancy Cost: Technique and Worked Examples
Total training cost = number of workers × cost per worker. Avonside Bikes plans to move 12 assembly workers into servicing, each needing a four-week course costing £900, so the total = 12 × £900 = £10,800. Redundancy would cost about £60,000 in total, so redeployment is cheaper by £60,000 − £10,800 = £49,200, which is 49,200 ÷ 60,000 × 100 = 82% lower.
Agency fee = percentage fee × salary. Calverton Insurance would pay a 20% agency fee to recruit an analyst earning £34,000, so the fee = 20% × £34,000 = £6,800. Convert the percentage to a decimal (0.20) and multiply by salary. Remember that “percent of” means multiply.
Common Mistakes
Ignoring the lost output during retraining, comparing redeployment with redundancy using only one cost, and describing redeployment as a dismissal.
Memory Trick
“Move, don’t remove.” Compare the cost of moving someone with the cost of removing them and replacing them later.
Evaluation link. A cost comparison favours redeployment only if skills transfer. If the retraining is long or the decline is permanent, the saving shrinks.
Evaluating the Usefulness of Redeployment
Evaluation earns the highest marks. Do not just summarise. Decide whether redeployment is right, and say what it depends on. A strong judgement might read: “Redeployment is most successful when skills are transferable and the decline is temporary, because retraining costs stay low while redundancy and recruitment costs are avoided.” That sentence is decisive and justified, whereas students who sit on the fence lose marks.
The situation
Is the decline temporary or permanent? Temporary dips suit redeployment. Permanent closure of a whole division may make redundancy unavoidable.
Transferable skills
If skills overlap, retraining is cheap and fast. If they do not, the costs may outweigh the savings.
Objectives and the market
A business focused on long-term reputation values redeployment more than one chasing short-term cost cuts. In a tight labour market, recruiting is expensive, so keeping existing staff becomes far more attractive.
Employee willingness
Consultation and choice raise acceptance. Forced moves can backfire.
Studying and Revising?
Reading through these notes is a solid start, but the real gains come from practising exam-style questions and receiving specific feedback. Most students skip this step because writing answers without marking feels pointless. The AI Business Tutor solves that problem: submit a practice answer, receive feedback broken down by AO1 to AO4, then rewrite and watch your mark improve. You get 3 free credits to start, and lessons and multiple-choice questions are free.
Practice Exam-Style Multiple Choice Questions for Redeployment
Q1 What is redeployment?
Show the answer
Correct answer: B. The worker stays employed and only their job changes.
Q2 Redeploying 12 workers costs £900 each in training. What is the total?
Show the answer
Correct answer: C. 12 × £900 = £10,800.
Q3 Which is an advantage of redeployment?
Show the answer
Correct answer: B. Moving a worker avoids the redundancy lump sum.
Q4 Agency fees are 20% of a £34,000 salary. What is the fee?
Show the answer
Correct answer: B. 0.20 × £34,000 = £6,800.
Practice GCSE Exam-Style Questions for Redeployment with a Case Study
Read the following case study, then answer the questions below.
Avonside Bikes manufactures bicycles in Bristol and employs 85 staff. Sales of traditional bikes have fallen by 30% over two years, while demand for electric bike servicing has doubled. The owner, Anita Shah, plans to move 12 assembly workers into the servicing department. Each worker needs a four-week training course costing £900. Redundancy would cost the business about £60,000 in total.
- Explain one benefit to Avonside Bikes of redeploying its assembly workers.3 marks
- Analyse the impact on Avonside Bikes of redeploying staff into the servicing department.6 marks
- Evaluate whether Anita should redeploy the 12 workers or make them redundant. Justify your answer.12 marks
For the 12-marker, use the numbers. Training costs £10,800 in total, far below £60,000. Then weigh skills fit and morale, and reach a clear judgement.
Practice A-Level Exam-Style Questions for Redeployment with a Case Study
Read the following case study, then answer the questions below.
Calverton Insurance Group employs 1,400 people across three UK call centres. AI chatbots now handle 45% of routine claims enquiries, and managers expect 220 call centre roles to become surplus within 18 months. Meanwhile, the fraud investigation team cannot recruit enough analysts. The labour market for data analysts is tight, and agency fees are 20% of first-year salary. The board wants to cut costs by 8% while keeping its “Best Employer” accreditation. Union representatives warn that staff fear compulsory transfers between sites.
- Calculate the agency fee Calverton would pay to recruit one analyst earning £34,000.3 marks
- Explain why redeployment may improve labour retention at Calverton.4 marks
- Analyse two disadvantages to Calverton of redeploying call centre staff into fraud investigation.9 marks
- To what extent is redeployment the best response to Calverton’s surplus staff?16 marks
- Evaluate the view that redeployment is always better than redundancy for large businesses facing technological change.20 marks
For question 1: 20% × £34,000 = £6,800. Convert the percentage to a decimal, 0.20, then multiply by salary.
For the 16 and 20 markers, structure your answer with balanced chains, then judge using depending factors. Think about skills gaps, cost objectives, union relations and the speed of change. A* answers often suggest a hybrid: redeploy those with transferable skills and offer voluntary redundancy to others.
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