It depends on the jurisdiction, but it's legal in lots of places. Even in some countries where there are employee protections, it's possible to do without much

It depends on the jurisdiction, but it's legal in lots of places. Even in some countries where there are employee protections, it's possible to do without much consequence. For example, in the UK an employee could take the employer to a employment tribunal.. in a year's time. Even if we're talking about a true layoff/redundancy situation, it can happen, particularly if there's a payoff involved.