Background: Back in August, Coles made the controversial call to cancel its in-store butcher service. And that day has finally come, my friends. From Sunday onwards, Coles is switching to pre-packaged meats only.

What happened: Coles claims that by providing only pre-packaged meats, it'll be ready for customers whenever they want to shop - not just when they've got stock in the deli.

What else: But unions reckon it's really just a cost-cutting exercise. Regardless, the 1,570 staff who work in the meat department will either be made redundant, or redeployed to other non-butcher-areas of the business.

So what's the key learning?

💡A genuine redundancy is when a company lays off staff...

• Because the employee's job doesn't need to be done anymore, or
• Because the company becomes insolvent or bankrupt.

It means a company can't claim a staff member is being made redundant...just to hire a new person to do the redundant person's job.

💡When a staff member is made redundant, they're usually entitled to some kind of compensation. Ya know, like a little 'sorry we don't need you anymore' payment.

💡Redeployment on the other hand is the option to move to a different area within the business. In Coles' case, staff have been given the opportunity to be redeployed. But if the offer doesn't suit them, they can opt for redundancy instead.