Layoff ( also called redundancy in British English ) , is when an employee does not work due to temporary or permanent suspension . Layoff ( in British and American English ) , also called redundancy in the UK , is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or ( more commonly ) a group of employees for business reasons , such as when certain positions are no longer necessary or when a business slow-down occurs . Originally the term layoff referred exclusively to a temporary interruption in work , as when factory work cyclically falls off .