Getting Redundancy Right

This topic will help you to manage the redundancy process effectively and lawfully. It sets out the legal requirements, best practice and some useful hints and tips.

Getting it wrong can mean that you end up in court. Many employers don’t realize that redundancy is a dismissal and subject to the same rules as any other dismissal. This means that you must ensure you follow a fair and proper process when carrying out a redundancy programme.

Last year I had a call from an employer, Ed, who had received an ET1 (tribunal claim form) from a former employee, claiming unfair dismissal. Ed didn’t understand that redundancy is a dismissal and said, “But I didn’t dismiss him. I made him redundant.”

It was the usual story. The employee had been unsatisfactory, but had never been disciplined or managed. When things got tighter financially, Ed called him in and told the employee that he was making him redundant. There was no selection process, no consultation, no formal meeting and no right of appeal. Ed found the concept that redundancy is a dismissal a bewildering idea. He just couldn’t accept that he had unfairly dismissed the employee because he had failed to go through any sort of process, never mind a fair one. Many employers still think that redundancy is a sort of ‘get out of jail free’ card. It’s not. Ed had unfairly dismissed the employee, so he had to settle and it cost him a fair sum of money.

• Preface
• About the author
• Miscellaneous notes

1. Overview of the Ebook
   1. Introduction
   2. What is redundancy?
   3. Selection for redundancy
   4. Redundancy notification procedure
   5. Voluntary redundancy
   6. Redundancy payment
   7. Consultation
   8. Collective redundancies
   9. Garden leave and time off
2. What is redundancy?
   1. Introduction
   2. Alternatives to redundancy
   3. Layoffs, short time working and guaranteed pay
   4. Claims for redundancy due to a lay-off or short time working
   5. Redeployment
   6. Employees who are at risk enjoy priority treatment
   7. The legal risks
3. Selection for redundancy
   1. Introduction
   2. Selection
   3. Bumping
   4. Selection of part time employees
   5. Employees with special protection
4. Redundancy notification procedure
   1. Introduction
   2. Planning the process
   3. Selecting from a pool
   4. Where there is no pool
   5. Conclusion of the consultation process
   6. Right of appeal
5. Voluntary redundancy
   1. Introduction
   2. Voluntary redundancies are still dismissals
   3. Setting up a voluntary redundancy process
   4. The voluntary redundancy process
   5. Selecting employees for voluntary redundancy
   6. No contractual right to voluntary redundancy
6. Redundancy payment
   1. Introduction
   2. Redundancy calculation
   3. Enhanced redundancy pay
   4. Notice pay
7. Consultation
   1. Introduction
   2. What is covered by consultation?
   3. Consulting with absent employees
8. Collective redundancies
   1. Introduction
   2. Collective redundancies
   3. Employee representatives
   4. Timing
   5. The collective consultation process
   6. Redundancy notices
   7. Complaints
9. Garden leave and time off
   1. Introduction
   2. Garden leave
   3. Time off when at risk of redundancy
   4. Payment for time off
   5. Redeployment