How Last In First Out works
You think the wrong people were chosen in your retrenchment.
How does Last In First Out work?
Within a defined group of similar roles, the most recently hired staff are selected first. Last In First Out (LIFO) is the usual principle for this, and it exists to stop selection from being arbitrary or targeted.1
The comparison only works within the affected category, meaning roles genuinely similar to yours, not the whole company. Comparing your service with someone in a different department is the wrong comparison.
When can an employer depart from it?
An employer may depart from LIFO, but only with sound, explainable reasons. Skills the business genuinely needs going forward are a commonly cited reason, if applied consistently and documented.
A vague preference, or reasons that shift when questioned, are weaker and worth challenging directly. Whatever reason is given, the employer must still prove the dismissal was for just cause if you challenge it.2
What should you check?
Ask in writing what the affected category was and what criteria were used within it. Compare your length of service with colleagues in genuinely similar roles who kept their jobs.
Check whether the same criteria were applied to everyone in the group. If a less senior colleague stayed with no stated reason, document that alongside your own case.
What if the employer will not explain?
A reasonable first step is a written request for the selection method. A refusal to give any explanation is itself a detail to note.
Read about what makes a retrenchment fair overall, since selection is only one part of the picture. If you think you were picked unfairly, an employment lawyer can review the criteria used in your case and act if the departure looks unjustified.
If you think you were picked unfairly for retrenchment, an independent employment lawyer can review how the selection was made and act on it if it looks wrong.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.
Common questions
What does affected category actually mean?
It means the specific group of similar roles being considered for retrenchment, not the whole company. Last In First Out is applied within that group, so comparing yourself with someone in a different role is the wrong comparison.
What counts as a sound reason to depart from it?
Specific, documented skills or experience the business genuinely needs going forward are commonly cited reasons. A vague preference for one person is weaker than a documented skills gap.
Can performance be used instead of seniority?
It can be considered, but it should be applied consistently and tied to a real business need, not used selectively to remove one person. Ask for the criteria used in your case.
What if I was more senior than colleagues who kept their jobs?
Raise it directly, because it goes to whether Last In First Out was followed or departed from without sound reason. Ask for the selection criteria in writing.
Sources
- Last In First Out is the conventional, objective principle for selecting who is retrenched, and an employer who departs from it must be able to show sound reasons for doing so. Richard Wee Chambers
- The burden falls on the employer, not the employee, to prove the dismissal was for just cause or excuse. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
Keep reading
If you think you were picked unfairly for retrenchment, an independent employment lawyer can review how the selection was made and act on it if it looks wrong.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.