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REDUNDANCY

Our employment solicitors here in Central London have substantial experience of giving advice on redundancy to employers and employees alike on the redundancy process. We’ve helped scores of people get better settlements to help them and their family plan more securely for the future and we’ll explain the issues in a clear friendly manner.

Employers often get the redundancy process wrong, exposing themselves to unnecessary claims. We will help employers get the process right, treating employees lawfully, fairly and consistently.

What is Redundancy?
Examples of what CAN BE a real Redundancy Situation:

• The organisation wishes to close a particular branch or office.
  
• The organisation stops producing a particular product, or providing a particular service
  
• The organisation's business has shrunk.
  
• The organisation no longer requires employee's to carry out a particular job or function.
  

Examples of what IS UNLIKELY to be a real Redundancy Situation:

• The organisation wants to use this as an excuse to remove an employee who is not performing adequately in the role or does not fit in for whatever reason.
  
• The organisation wants to replace an employee with someone on a lower rate of pay.
• The organisation does not like a certain employee, or thinks he/she is underperforming or has been off sick too much recently.

Who should the employer select redundancies from?
The employer should first of all consider the ‘pool’ of employees who they may wish to make redundant. There are several methods of achieving this. The employer should not tailor the pool of potential redundancies to encompass the people it has already decided should be made redundant. In other words the process should not be pre-judged,

What is consultation on redundancy?
Duty to Consult: Before making any decision with respect to redundancies, the employer has a duty to consult with the employees who may be affected.

Length of Consultation: This is not specified by statute (unless 20 or more employees are being made redundant), but unless there are exceptional circumstances, this should be a reasonable length of time, or at least one week. It should consist of at least one meeting with the employee, plus giving the employee the option of a further meeting at the end of the consultation period.

Object of the Consultation Process: The consultation is to include ways of avoiding the redundancy situation or dismissals, or of reducing the number of dismissals involved and mitigating the effects of the dismissals.

The legislation does not require agreement to be reached but the employer must consult in 'good faith' with a view to reaching agreement.

What criteria can the employer rely on to select people for redundancy?
It is essential to ensure that objective criteria are applied and to demonstrate how those objective criteria have been used. This may be on the old fashioned 'last in first out' principle, or it may be on a more sophisticated score card system. Employers should not decide who to dismiss in advance, and then seek to justify it after the event.

Suitable alternative vacancies?
During the notice period, it is essential for the employer to consider the employee for any suitable alternative vacancies within the organisation, or the group of companies if applicable.

The right to appeal?
It is essential for the employer to give the employee the right to appeal the decision to dismiss him or her. Failure to do so may render the dismissal unfair. Ideally the appeal should be heard by a more senior manager, unconnected with the original decision.

What is the employee’s right to a statutory redundancy payment?
Each employee who has two or more year's service has the right to receive a statutory redundancy payment on termination of employment. If the employee has been working between the ages of 21 and 41, the entitlement is a weeks pay (subject to a statutory cap) times full years worked. There is a multiplier of 1.5 for years worked over the age of 41. Call us today on 0207 324 6271 for an exact calculation.

What is the employee’s statutory right to notice?
Each employee has a statutory right to receive notice as set out below:

• All employees with more than three months' continuous employment have a statutory right to receive one week's notice.
  
• One week's notice for each full year worked, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
  
• If the contractual entitlement to notice is greater than the statutory right, then the employee has the right to receive the contractual entitlement. There is no obligation on the employer to give payment in lieu of notice, although often employers choose to do so.

Do employers have to give enhanced redundancy packages?
Employers frequently opt to offer enhanced redundancy packages but they are rarely obliged to do so.

Reculver Solicitors is regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Principal: James Carmody. Consultant: Carol Aylott. Serviced office. Meetings by appointment only.