I recently helped one of my employer clients with a redundancy situation in their business. Read my post for some redundancy tips, along with the great feedback I received from my client.
What is a redundancy?
A redundancy situation tends to arise when the employer a) closes down completely, or b) closes down a particular office, or c) and most often, has a reduced need for employees of a particular kind. If this is happening to your business, I have set out some really important things you need to consider in advance of dismissing any employees.
What is consultation?
As the employer, you need to be clear about which kind of redundancy situation you are dealing with. You then need to meaningfully consult with your employees about why there is a redundancy situation, what you are hoping to achieve through the redundancy (perhaps cost savings, efficiencies etc…), what will happen to staff duties and responsibilities, what alternatives you have considered, how staff will be selected, and if there are any ways in which redundancy can be avoided etc.
Is the pool of employees at risk of redundancy identified correctly?
The pool for selection is essentially the group of employees who you as the employer will select from, to make employees redundant. The pool might be the sales team, the finance team, or the whole company. Each case will be different. You need to be satisfied this pool is fair and appropriate. By this we mean not too wide and not to narrow, advice is usually important on this issue.
Is the selection process fair?
If you are satisfied there is a genuine redundancy and you have fairly constructed the pool, the next step is to set out a fair means by which to select employees. Selection can take place in a number of ways but very commonly, it is by a scoring system, interview or presentation. You should make sure you fully understand how to use the selection process and it is applied fairly to all employees avoiding discriminatory criteria that could give rise to claims.
Suitable alternative positions?
As the employer you must do all you can to avoid redundancies. This means considering and offering suitable alternative employment. Make sure you speak to any at risk employees about any roles, including sending out details of any vacancies and updating any internal job boards.
What payments are owed?
If you do need to dismiss an employee as redundant, remember they will be anxious and want the assurance that any payments owed are forthcoming in a timely fashion. Things to look out for here are redundancy pay (check statutory entitlement online), notice pay, outstanding holiday pay, bonus, commission and expenses.
Can Lincs Law Employment Solicitors Help You?
If you are an employer proposing redundancies, I can help. Earlier this week I received the following lovely feedback from a happy business client:-
“Sophie gave me the step by step guide of what I needed to do and drafted the first letter to my employees. Sophie also explored every eventuality and various options on how best I could proceed. Sophie has given me clear guidance and greatly reassured me and allayed any fears I had…Genuinely don’t think there is anything else Sophie could have done differently. I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone”
Please call me on 01522 440512. You are under no obligation and you will not be charged for your enquiry. Alternatively, visit our website at https://lincslaw.co.uk/services/employers/ for more information.
Sophie Goodwill
Director, Specialist Employment Law Solicitor
Tags: Employment Law Advice Employment Lawyer Lincolnshire employment solicitor lincoln redundancy advice Redundancy Entitlement Restructure Advice