“We understand that employers sometimes need to consider making redundancies. Experience has taught us that adopting an open and supportive process from the outset is key to making redundancy related dismissals fair”
Redundancy Advice for Employers
Redundancy constitutes a potentially fair reason for dismissal. However, in order to avoid costly & time consuming claims it’s vital that Employers understand what does and what does not constitute a true redundancy scenario and also that they implement & follow a fair redundancy process.
WHAT IS REDUNDANCY?
Employers need to be able to distinguish redundancy from other types of dismissal situations. UK employment law states that a redundancy situation will exist where:
An employer’s workplace is closing or moving, or where an employer is ceasing trading altogether; or where
An employer has a reduced need for employees to carry out a particular kind of work.
GETTING REDUNDANCY RIGHT
In order to ensure that any redundancy related dismissals are fair, employers need to ensure that the redundancy process that they follow incorporates the following key elements and stages:
Advanced Notice: Employers must inform all affected employees that their role is “at risk” of being made redundant at a sufficiently early stage in the process.
Selection Criteria: Fair objective and ideally measurable selection criteria need to be decided upon and applied to help avoid any allegations of discrimination and/or unfairness.
Consultation: Meaningful individual consultation between the employer and the affected employees is a core and critical component of fair redundancy related dismissals. Additionally, if an employer is proposing to make 20 or more employees redundant within a 90-day period, it will have a duty to undertake "collective consultation" with representatives of the affected employees.
Alternative Employment: Employers are required to consider whether there are any suitable alternative vacancies available that would avoid the need to make employees redundant. Additionally, it’s important for employers to be aware that employees on maternity leave or shared parental leave have the right to be offered any suitable alternative employment first.
HOW CAN HARRINGTON LAW HELP?
We’re able to assist employers and HR teams carry out a fair redundancy and/or dismissal process by:
Establishing whether there’s a genuine redundancy situation: We work closely with employers to understand their circumstances and assess whether there’s a genuine redundancy redundancy and/or whether redundancy represents the most appropriate course of action.
Legal Process: We guide employers through each step and stage of the legal process, helping them to minimise the prospect of making a mistake and/or having to defend unfair dismissal claims.
Consultation: We identify when consultation needs to take place, who it needs to take place with and how consultation should be conducted.
HR Support: We work closely with employers’ internal HR teams and/or external HR consultants to help them develop effective redundancy and/or organisational strategies including questions relating to redeployment, voluntary redundancies and settlement agreements (formerly compromise agreements).
Selection Criteria: We help employers develop fair, robust and objective selection and scoring criteria.
Redundancy letters and documents: We can prepare or assist with the preparation of redundancy related letters, guidance, checklists and policies.
Grievances, appeals & Employment Tribunal claims: We assist employers in defending redundancy related grievances, appeals and Employment Tribunal claims.
NEXT STEPS
You can find out more about who we are here. If you’ve got any questions please just ask. You’ll find us friendly and approachable and we’re always happy to have an initial telephone conversation with you free of charge.