Redundancy Timeline

When considering making employees redundant, following the correct redundancy timeline is essential. Failing to follow a legally compliant redundancy timeline may render any dismissals you make unfair and expose you to unfair dismissal claims.

At Gap HR, we have been providing HR and employment law support to small businesses for over twenty years. With a proven track record of keeping our clients legally compliant and tribunal-free, we take the stress out of being an employer and give you peace of mind that your HR practices are beyond reproach.

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Redundancy Timeline Step-By-Step

Step 1: Establish A Need For Redundancies

Redundancy is only appropriate in certain situations, namely when a role has become obsolete or you need to reduce your workforce. You cannot use a redundancy process to dismiss employees for reasons such as poor performance or misconduct. If you do, the dismissal will almost certainly be unfair.

Examples of reasons that may justify making redundancies include the following:

  • Your business has financial difficulties.
  • New processes have rendered the role obsolete.
  • The role is no longer needed due to a decrease in demand.
  • Other employees are carrying out the role.

Step 2: Consider Whether There Are Any Viable Alternatives To Redundancies

Even if you have established a valid need to make redundancies, you are obliged to consider whether there are any alternatives. Depending on the nature of your organisation and your reasons for needing to make redundancies, examples of the types of measures you might consider include the following:

  • Redeploying the employees to different parts of the organisation.
  • Reducing working hours.
  • Offering job sharing.

Step 3: Identify The Procedure You Must Follow

If you have established a need to make redundancies, you must check whether there are any internal procedures you must follow, as well as those detailed in the ACAS guidelines. For example, your organisation may have a redundancy policy, or there may be a collective agreement with a trade union detailing the steps you should take.

Step 4: Inform Employees

You should inform your employees of your redundancy proposals as soon as possible. You should hold a general meeting with all employees affected, at which you explain your reasons for considering redundancies, how many redundancies you may need to make, and what will happen next.

You should write to those employees at risk of redundancy, confirming their role is at risk, detailing all alternatives such as redeployment, and explaining your consultation plans.

Step 5: Hold Consultations

You must hold individual consultations with your employees before making any redundancies. If you don’t, you risk of facing a tribunal claim.

The type of consultation you must hold depends on the number of redundancies you propose making.

If you propose making less than 20 employees redundant, you need to consult with the individual employees.

During a consultation, you should thoroughly discuss the redundancy situation with the employees. The types of issues you should cover include the following:

  • Why you are considering making redundancies.
  • Whether the employee has any suggestions as to how you might avoid making redundancies or reduce the number.
  • What the process is for employees to apply for the roles that remain.
  • What happens to those employees who are to be made redundant.

Step 6: Offer All Remaining Roles to All Employees At Risk

You must offer all open roles to those staff at risk of redundancy. They have the opportunity to apply for the roles. If more than one person applies for a role, an interview process has to be carried out to make sure that the appropriate applicant gets the role.

If the employees do not apply or are not successful in their application, they would remain in the process and at the end of the consultation period, if no alternatives have appeared, they would be informed that they are being made redundant.

Step 7: Give Notice To The Employees Selected For Redundancy

You must give employees formal notice of your decision. You should meet with the employees to explain various key matters, including the following:

  • How long their notice period is.
  • Whether they need to work their notice.
  • When their employment will end.
  • How much redundancy pay they will receive.
  • The employee’s right to appeal your decision.

You have to confirm the above information in writing.

If you need assistance ensuring your redundancy process is fair and follows the correct redundancy timeline, our HR experts are ideally positioned to help. We give straightforward advice in plain English and offer a range of packages to suit every budget, enabling you to choose the level of support your business needs.

Call us now on 01491 598 600 or Click Here to Make An Enquiry and we will be delighted to help you.

Redundancy Timeline

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