Unless the law has changed recently, if you make someone redundant in Australia (where the author is from), you can't fill the role again for 6 months (I think

Unless the law has changed recently, if you make someone redundant in Australia (where the author is from), you can't fill the role again for 6 months (I think it's 6 mo) - ie: it's illegal to use "the role is redundant now" to fire someone and immediately fill the role again, which includes promotion-from-within. Of all the excuses you can use to fire someone, that one you actually have to mean. Of course, you can work around the law by having the same duties performed by someone with a different (scare-quotes) "role".