Como pedido:
PHP:
$pdo = new \PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=test', $user, $pass);
$searchTerm = $_GET['term'];
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT name_first, employee_id, unique_id, name_last FROM hr_employees WHERE name_first LIKE :search OR name_first LIKE :search OR employee_id LIKE :search");
$stmt->execute([':search' => $searchTerm.'%']);
$array = [];
while (false !== ($row = $stmt->fetch())) {
$array[] = [
'value' => $row['name_first'].' '.$row['name_last'].' ('.$row['employee_id'].')',
'id' => $row['id'],
];
}
echo json_encode($array);
JavaScript:
<script>
$( "#employees" ).autocomplete({
source: 'search.php',
select: function( event, ui ) {
window.location.href = 'page.php?id='+ui.item.id;
}
});
</script>
Mexa com console.log em vez de alterar o local:https://jsfiddle.net/dLe4a83x/