A redundancy checklist for employers

An unfortunate consequence of Covid-19 is that many employers are having to grapple with redundancy. 

It is a time of stress and uncertainty for employees and for employers too. A poorly managed redundancy process will expose the business to Employment Tribunal claims, unsettle the remaining workforce causing reduced motivation and output. 

I have prepared a useful redundancy checklist, for employers to follow:- 

1. Fair process - when reducing numbers of employees, use appropriate redundancy pools and objective selection criteria. Never use LIFO.
2. Notice - employees with one month to two years’ service are entitled to a week’s notice. Between 2 and 12 years, one week for each complete year of service applies to a maximum of 12 weeks. Pay in lieu of notice is often used. 
3. Consult - about alternatives to redundancy, ways to reduce the numbers of redundancies and how to reduce resulting hardship.
4. Consultation periods - less than 20 employees consultation must be a reasonable time period, 20 to 99 employees 30 days before the date of dismissal, 100 or more employees 45 days before date of dismissal.
5. Collective consultation - in addition to individual consultation, when 20 or more employees are to be made redundant unions or employee representatives must be consulted.
6. Right to be accompanied - allow a colleague or union representative to accompany the employee during all meetings, including appeal.
7. Appeal - advise employee about right of appeal in writing
8. Redundancy Pay – calculated in accordance with a statutory formula. Gov.uk is useful.

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