Repercussions of Redundancy (Routledge Library Editions: Work & Society)

Originally published in 1964, at a time of much public unease regarding redundancy, this book contains the results of a comprehensive survey, inspired by a suggestion of the then Minister of Labour that the mass redundancies in the Midlands motor industry of 1956 merited a full-scale investigation. The findings are based on an analysis of a 1 in 10 sample of men made redundant in Birmingham in the period. Among the matters examined are the difficulties encountered in obtaining work after redundancy; the range of geographical mobility and the role played by the then employment exchanges in securing new employment. Other chapters focus on the financial hardship caused; the resort to savings and the impact of the redundancies on the gender balance in the workforce. The impact of the dismissals on trade union affiliation is also considered, as are the men’s verdicts on the ‘fairness’ of the selection procedure adopted.

Hilda R. Kahn was Lecturer in Social Administration at the University of Hull, UK.