It depends on the context in which the redundancies took place. A redundancy situation can arise not merely as a result of a downturn in business, but also in the expectation of such a downturn. If you can prove you had a reasonable expectation that the business in which your former employees worked was about to turn down, then - even if you were wrong - you have a defence against their claims.
However, if your ex-employees can convince an Employment Tribunal that you used the pretext of redundancy to get rid of them, you are likely to end up paying compensation for unfair dismissal.
