How to Manage Collective Redundancies

7/30/2019 How to Manage Collective Redundancies

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Hw t maae

cecte redudaces


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Contents

About this guide 3

What is collective redundancy? 5

Wh s csutat s mprtat? 5

Cecte ad ddua csutat: the asc prcpes 9

Case stud 10

Ten-point checklist or handling collective redundancies 12

1. Whe des csutat start? 12

2. What s meat a estashmet? 14

3. Hw ma empees are ed? 15

4. Wh t csut? 16

5. What rmat shud u prde? 17

6. Hw shud csutat e cducted? 19

7. Hw shud csutat ast? 20

8. Whe d u carr ut ddua csutat? 20

9. Whe des dsmssa take eect? 21

10. What are the rhts redress? 23

Dea wth speca cases sec ad TUPE 24

Looking ater your employees and your business 27

Wrk cse wth us ad empee represetates 27

Deep a cecte redudac prcedure 29

Recse hw pepe ee 34

Restructur: a pa r the uture 37

Appendix 1

Redudac ad the aw 39

1

2

3

4

5


4/62How to Manage ColleCtive RedundanCies

Appendix 2

Sampe Frms: Seect Matr/Redudac areemet 45

Appendix 3

Statutr redudac pamets: a ute 51

Appendix 4

Empee represetates eect ad res ad respstes 53


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About this guide

Managing the individual

Every redundancy situation, no matter how large or small, involves

individuals.

Individual experiences whether they involve the threat o losing your

job, o having to dismiss someone, or seeing colleagues leave while

you continue in work need to be careully managed.

Many o the good management practices or dealing with collective

redundancies also apply to handling individual redundancies sensitively

and airly (see the diagram collective and individual consultation, the

basic principles, p9).

1

orasats rw ad ctract,

me cat ad rerase. Wth

careu pa empers ca make

these trasts scae, pace r

wrk practces as eecte as

psse.

Ths ude w hep empers k

ater ther sta ad ther usess

whe aced wth the prspect

mak a scat umer pepe redudat wth a reate

shrt perd.

it w as er sme cart r

empers, empee represetates

ad empees aut what the aw

sas cecte redudac (where

20 r mre empees ma se ther

js wth a 90 da perd at a

se estashmet), the mpact

case aw ad what cmm sese

recmmeds.

Dur perds majr ad

smetmes traumatc chae, t s

atura r thse ed t ask:

wh s t happe?

wh s aected?what ca we d aut t?hw w t take?what happes et?



Msuderstads ca arse whe

the aswers t a these

quests are t cear.

We hae prduced a smpe tmee

t hhht ad epa sme the

ke staes a cecte redudac

prcess. We as e sme tps r

wrk mre cse wth empees

ad empee represetates ad

hw t maae the pschca

mpact redudaces.

Note: throughout the guide, where

something is a legal requirement

this is indicated by the word

must, or example, employers

must consult and consultation

must begin . Where the word

should is used, this indicates

what Acas considers to be goodemployment practice.


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What is collective

redundancy?Redudaces cmm arse whe

a emper eeds t:

cse r me a r part theusess

make cst sas due t a strder, chae custmer

demad r a ecec dre

trduce ew tech rrerase the wa the usess

s ru.

i a emper s prps t make

redudat 20 r mre empees at

e estashmet wth 90 das,

ea requremets reard

cecte csutat app. The aw

dees ths cecte redudac

stuat as:

dismissal or a reason not

related to the individual

concerned or or a number o

reasons all o which are not so

related.

Ths det mht cude a

stuat where dsmssas are part a rerasat where there s

reduct the era umers. Fr

eampe, a emper ma wsh t

chae the ctracts 20

empees. i the emper decdes

t termate the ctracts ad ssues

ew es, these dsmssas wud ecassed as redudac r the

purpses cecte redudac

rues ad trer the statutr

csutat prcedure. Fr mre

rmat, see the Acas ude

var a ctract empmet.

Why is consultation soimportant?

gd cmmucat ad

csutat are the edrck eer

eecte rasat. b

empees ad empee

represetates the rmat the

eed aut prpsed chaes wth

a rasat ad ask r therews the est wa rward,

empers ca:

have better discussions

empees ca uderstad the

usess reass ehd a

prpsas ad us ad

represetate rups ca act as

useu sud ards

2



keep employees motivated and

engaged. The Maced Reew

ud empee eaemet

ud that empees ace wrk ssues s crtca t

eaemet. le maaers ca

as hep t put rasata

chaes t a ctet that teams

ad dduas ca uderstad

protect the wellbeing o their

employees. be uder threat

s ur j s er stressu r

thse aected, cud the

maaers wh hae t reak the

ad ews ad r the sta wh

rema (see p35). Demstrat

empath ca e as mprtat asadher t rasata pces

help the business to survive and

plan or the uture. Ma

rasats cus the

redudac prcess ut ret t

pa r e aterwards. Where

psse, u eed t deep a

ueprt r a restructured

usess rward

What does the law on collective redundancyrequire?

The law states that when proposing to make redundant 20 or more

employees at one establishment within 90 days, an employer must:

consult with any recognised trade union or, i none, with otherelected employee representatives

start consultation in good time at least 30 or 45 days beore therst dismissal takes eect depending on the number o proposed

redundancies. No dismissals can take eect until consultation is

complete and the minimum period o 30 or 45 days has elapsed

consult on ways o avoiding dismissals, reducing the numbers to bemade redundant and mitigating the eect o the dismissals

disclose in writing to the appropriate representatives certaininormation concerning the proposed dismissals

notiy the Secretary o State or Business, Innovation and Skills atleast 30 or 45 days in advance o the rst dismissal taking eect,

depending on the number o proposed redundancies.


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avoid/reduce the need or

redundancies. Us ad/r

empee represetates ca

te cme up wth prpsasthat ca hep t sae js

save money. Faure t prper

csut empees ca ead t the

pamet a prtecte award

t empees. The empmet

trua ca decde hw ma

weeks rma pa s awarded t

a empee (up t a mamum

90 das).

As a rue thum, the er the

chae ad the mre pepe t

aects, the mre mprtat t s t

et the cmmucat ad

csutat rht.

Keep pepe the dark aut

whats happe s t d r

emta wee r prductt.

Hweer, pepe w t apprecate

e aarmed uecessar, s

mak the rht judemet aut

whe a redudac stuat mht

arse s ta.

Cmmucat ad csutatshud t just e a prcess that s

dusted ad ruht t e dur

redudaces r ther majr

rasata chae. i empers

hae a d rapprt wth empee

represetates, the dscusss

er redudaces are ke t e

mre eecte k ater the

uture terest th empees

ad the usess.

Empers must t the Secretar

State a prpsed cecte

redudaces. A cp the

Adace ntcat

Redudaces rm (kw as

HR1) ca e taed rmthe isec Serce at

www.sec..uk.

Help for employees

Throughout the redundancy process, you should be thinking about the

help that you can oer employees.

I you have to make redundancies, Jobcentre Plus can give you and

your employees support and advice through its Rapid Response

Service.
http://www.insolvency.go.uk/http://www.insolvency.go.uk/



Help for employees (continued)

JobCentre Plus can:

help people acing redundancy to construct CVs and nd jobsprovide general inormation about benetshelp people identiy their transerable skills and training needsprovide training to help people develop vocational skills

help with costs like travel to work expenses.Jobcentre Plus may also provide onsite support or large

scale redundancies. For urther inormation visit

www.gov.uk/staredundant/overview

Redundancy in Scotland

In Scotland, Rapid Response Service support is delivered through

Partnership Action or Continuing Employment (PACE) theres more

inormation on the Skills Development Scotland website. Alternatively,

you can phone the Scottish national redundancy helpline on

0808 100 1855.

Redundancy in Wales

For employees who live in Wales the Welsh Governments ReAct

Programme, which is partunded by the European Social Fund,

provides a package o support to help people gain new skills,

overcome obstacles and improve their chances o returning to work

in as short a time as possible ater redundancy. ReAct can provide:

a vocational training grant o up to 1,500.help with costs associated with training such as travel,

accommodation and child care

a wage subsidy o up to 3,000 to recruiting employersa training grant to recruiting employers.For urther inormation visit www.wales.gov.uk or contact the ReActHelpline on 01792 765888.
https://www.gov.uk/staff-redundant/overviewhttp://wales.gov.uk/http://wales.gov.uk/https://www.gov.uk/staff-redundant/overview


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Collective and individual consultation the basic principles

2

Collective and individual consultation the basic principles

Most employees

with two years continuous

services are entitled to

a Redundancy Payment

(see Appendix 3. p51)

Change due to:

move/relocation

loss of order

cost savings

new technology

Note: terminating

20 or more contracts

in order to change

terms and conditions

is likely to trigger the

requirement toconsult

The law relating to

the dismissal of

employees on

conduct or

performance issues

is quite distinct.

For further

information seeDiscipline and

Possible job losses?

20ormorein

a90-dayperiod Fe

werthan20

Collective consultation:

Dismissal defined by law as not related to

the individual (ie not about performance

or conduct)

Individual consultation:

In some situations there may be an overlap between collective and

individual consultation

Grievances: the Acas

Guide at

www.acas.org.ukSame principles apply:

look at alternatives to redundancy

consult in good time and have meaningful discussions

give employees the information they need

use fair and objective selection criteria

be clear about redundancy pay (where applicable)

help employees with finding other work

think about the survivours and the mangagers who

have to break the bad news



Case Study: Collective consultation exercise

OverviewA large UK retailer proposed to remove and reduce the working through-

thenight operation in 18 o its stores. This would result in 290

redundancies. Collective consultation was completed in eight weeks and,

as a result, employees either accepted a day time redeployment

opportunity or notice o redundancy was served. During the collective

consultation exercise the company was aced with a number o questions:

When was there a proposal to consult on?

The inhouse HR team worked with the business to identiy at what

point the business had a proposal to consult on. In this case they

decided that this point had been reached:

ater some initial preparatory work had been completed andthe senior leadership team had agreed in principle or the proposal to

progress.

Did the proposal trigger collective consultation?

O the total o 290 proposed redundancies, six stores had more than20 employees likely to be aected by the proposals. In order to

maintain good employment relations and seek the views o all the

aected employees, the company decided to collectively consult with

employees in all 18 stores.

How did the company prepare or consultation?

The company worked quickly to:

produce a consultation pack or aected employees and theorganisations consultative group

make decisions about areas such as redeployment opportunities,selection processes and outplacement

sign o a communication plan, slide pack and Q&A ready to opencollective consultation

train the manager leading collective consultation.


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Case Study: Collective consultation exercise

Overview (continued)Who did the company consult with and how?

The constitution with the companys consultation group allowedthem to consult with their elected representatives, so they moved

straight into opening collective consultation.

The business proposal was presented to the employeerepresentatives and initial Q&As answered. The ollowing day thebusiness announced the proposed changes to the aected stores

and detailed minutes rom the rst consultation meeting were shared

with all aected employees.

Over the ollowing eight weeks a series o meetings were heldbetween the business and the consultative group. A Q&A process

was also used where aected employees could ask the business

questions directly through their consultative group.

When did collective consultation end?

The company received counter proposals rom the employeerepresentatives. The company considered and responded to these

and provided a thorough rationale as to why not all o the counter

proposals had been accepted. The business agreed with the

consultative group to ormally close collective consultation.

What about individual consultation?

Once collective consultation had been ormally closed the businessmoved to individual consultation.

Line managers were trained and then held the meetings. Aectedemployees could use the companys inhouse telephone advice

service or support.

Redeployment options were taken up by many employees, but insome cases notice o redundancy was served.



Tenpoint checklist

or handling collectiveredundanciesHad redudaces eecte

es mak a seres decss.

These decss ca e made mrequck, ad mre eecte,

empers hae estashed sstems

pace r csutat.

Ma empers such as the e

descred the case stud (see p10)

kw hw t hade redudac

stuats. others are t s sure

aut what t d.

The w tept checkst w

hep aswer sme ur quests

ad eae u t cus the

pepe rather tha the prcess a

redudac stuat:

Collective redundancy checklist

1. Whe des csutat start?

Csutat must start d

tme ad must e:

at east 30 das ere the rst

dsmssa takes eect 20 t 99

empees are t e made

redudat at e estashmet

er a perd 90 das r ess

at east 45 das ere the rst

dsmssa takes eect 100 r

mre empees are t e made

redudat at e estashmet

er a perd 90 das r ess.

Empers must start the

csutat prcess ear euh

r meau csutat t takepace. Preset a prpsa as a

de dea w t aw empee

represetates the chace t pa a

cstructe part dscusss

the psse wa rward.

Sme empers start t pa

restructur we adace

prpsed chaes tak pace.

Carr ut csutat seera

mths ahead psse

redudaces ca aw mre

tme r:

empees t pa uture career

pts


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the usess t trduce chaes rht ssues, empers ma hae t a mre rata wa. take addta steps t esure that

prductt ad empee

Hweer, prewars eaemet are t aderseredudaces ca harm mrae ad aected (see the Acas ude

create pred ucertat The pepe actr: ea ur

decss take a tme t make. empees r usess success

As we as esur that csutat at www.acas.r.uk).

s meau, ad cuses the

Transitional arrangementsChanges to the law on collective redundancy consultation came in to

place on 6 April 2013. Transitional arrangements mean that:

i an employer proposes to dismiss 100 or more employees at oneestablishment over a period o 90 days or less and the proposal is

made beore 6 April, consultation must begin at least 90 days

beore the rst dismissal takes eect. i an employer proposes to dismiss 100 or more employees at one

establishment over a period o 90 days or less and the proposal is

made ater 6 April, consultation must begin at least 45 days beore

the rst dismissal takes eect.
http://www.acas.org.uk/http://www.acas.org.uk/



2. What s meat aestashmet?

i rder r the ea requremet tcsut t take eect, a emper

must prpse t make 20 r mre

empees redudat at e

estashmet. The Eurpea Curt

Justce has sad that

estashmet meas deped

the crcumstaces, the unit t

whch the wrkers made redudat

are assed t carr ut therdutes.

i rder t estash whether a

wrkpace ca e cassed as a

estashmet, t mht e hepu t

ask the w quests:

is t a dstct ett?

Des t hae a deree

permaece ad stat?

Des t hae the at t carr ut

the tasks t has ee assed?

Des t hae a wrkrce,

techca meas adrasata structure that aw

t t carr ut ts uct?

Deped the aswers t these

quests, estashmet ca mea

mre tha e pace r a pace at

whch the empees d t

hatua wrk.

Fr eampe, a stcs cmpa

has three dstrut stes acrss a

ct. The warehuse sta are

assed t partcuar stes, whchare ru as dstct ettes, ad

therere r them the ste wud e

the estashmet. Hweer the

drers, athuh ased at a

partcuar ste, are epected t wrk

fe acrss the three stes ad are

maaed as a se ett. Fr the

drers, the estashmet s ke t

e the three stes. Hweer, the

cmpa was t restructure the

trasprt uct ths mht chae.

The stuat r empees wh

wrk at deret eraphca stes s

t awas cear cut. Fr eampe,

the ud trade, empees mht

me etwee arus ud stesad t ca e hard t determe wh

s acated t whch ste ad what

deree permaece the stes

hae. i these stuats, t s wrth:

check what ddua ctracts

empmet sa, terms a

eraphca cat the

empee s assed t ad areeat maaemet structure

e cear aut what actua

happes practce. Are there a

patters t where empees wrk

ad r what perds tme?

Ths s a cmpe area ad, dut,

u ma wat t seek ea adce.


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What is an establishment?

In working out what is an establishment, a distinct entity does not

have to:

be geographically separate rom other units and acilities o theundertaking

be independent in terms o any legal, economic, nancial,administrative or technological autonomy

have a management which can independently eect collectiveredundancies.

3. Hw ma empees areed?

i cacuat hw ma pepe are

ed a pteta redudac

stuat, e aware that:

Voluntary redundancies areincluded in the total. Fr

eampe, u prpse t make

redudat 22 empees ut s

these empees uteer r

redudac, u must csut.

i a collective consultation hasalready started a separate

redudac stuat wth the

same rasat, the dsmssas

whch are aread suject t

csutat d t hae t e

take t accut whe

csder a ew prpsa t

make empees redudat.

Hweer, empers shud t

deerate staer redudaces

t ad csutat:

Redeployment will counttowards the total number o

proposed dismissals. Fr

eampe, a emper prpses

t make 17 empees redudat

ad redep a urther e, the

tta umer s er the 20

empee threshd, s the must

csut (uess the empees are

e redeped uder a

ctractua term).

i a empee s a fxed-termcontract which is coming to the

end o its agreed duration, the

empee s t cuded the

cacuat. Fr eampe, a

emper prpses t dsmss as

redudat 15 empees at e

estashmet er 40 das ad



t reew the ctracts a

urther 15 empees whse

ctracts are aut t ed wth

these 40 das. i ths stuatthere s requremet t csut.

Hweer, the empee

prpses t dsmss the edterm

empees earer tha the date

areed wth the 40 da perd

(ad the reas s redudac),

the emper must cude the

edterm ctracts the cutr cecte redudaces ad

must csut the prpsed

redudaces.

Collective redundancy and xed-term contracts

When counting the number o redundancies proposed, the employer

must include any xedterm contracts i the employer:

proposes to terminate the contract early,andproposes to do so on grounds o redundancyWhere an employer simply proposes to terminate a xedterm contract

on the date agreed in the contract, such a dismissal does not need to

be included in the number o proposed redundancies.This is the case even i the dismissal occurs within the same period o

time as the proposed collective redundancies.

4. Wh t csut? a est csutate d.A est d r eampe, eEmpers must csut wth:rmed as part the irmat ad

Csutat Empees (iCE)represetates a recsed Reuats must hae a raddepedet trade u, r

euh remt t dscuss redudac

ssues (see Apped 1). Fr urtherther eected empees,

rmat eect empeetrade u s recsed.

represetates ad ther rhts ad

respstes see Apped 4, p53.Empee represetates ma e

eected se r the purpse

csutat aut specc

redudaces r the cud e part


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Note:

Union and employeerepresentatives o employees

have particular rights and

protections which enable them

to carry out their unctions

properly. These include time o

or duties in relation to

redundancy inormation,

consultation and access to

accommodation and acilities(see Appendix 1 or more

inormation).

Empers must csut wth the

apprprate represetates a

the empees wh ma e

aected (drect r drect) the

prpsed redudac dsmssas r a measures take cect

wth thse dsmssas.

Fr eampe, a emper decdes

t cut a admstrate team, ths

ma drect aect the saes team

wh ma hae t take sme

the admstrate uct.

5. What rmat shud uprde?

Empers are te ucerta autwhat ee deta the shud

dscse aut the reass r the

prpsed redudaces. irmat,

r ack t, ca ecme the cause

mstrust ad rustrat.

T much rmat ca take tme

ad, smetmes, specast tra t

e ae t aase crrect. T ttermat ca make empees ee

the are e kept the dark ad

uae t take part u

dscusss.

There ma e stuats where

empers ee uae t dscse

rmat the csder t e

cmmerca seste, r eampe, a emper s prps t

rerase the usess ad des

t wat t e cmpettrs

rmat prducts r aces.

gd empmet practce

recmmeds that u shud e as

pe as psse wth us ad

empee represetates.

Wthhd rmat ma hder

the prress eecte csutat

ad ma ee reder the

csutat ad. See the case

stud p10 r hw the prcess

ca wrk practce.



Information you must disclose

Employers must disclose in writing to the appropriate representatives

the ollowing inormation concerning proposals or redundancies so

that they can play a constructive part in the consultation process:

the reasons or the proposalsthe numbers and descriptions o employees it is proposed to

dismiss as redundant

the total number o employees o any such description employed atthe establishment in question

the way in which employees will be selected or redundancyhow the dismissals are to be carried out, taking account o any

agreed procedure, including the period over which the dismissals

are to take eect

the method o calculating the amount o redundancy payments to bemade to those who are dismissed

agency workers: the number o agency workers, where they areworking and the type o work they are doing.


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6. Hw shud csutat e csderat t cuter prpsasr suests. See the case studcducted? p7 r hw ths csutat

Csutat must cude was : prcess mht wrk practce.

ad the dsmssasit s t awas psse r

csutat t d was adreduc the umer empees

dsmssas. but eue csutatst e dsmssed, ad

aut the usess reass ehd

the prpsed redudaces are mremtat the eects dsmssas. ke t prduce create suts.

The recet ecmc dwtur hasCsutat shud e eue ad hhhted eampes empers,must e udertake the emper empee represetates ad uswth a ew t reach areemet wrk tether t sae js wth apprprate represetates aree t aterate measures,these ssues. Ths meas aw such as temprar as reuh tme t dscuss ssues at a reduced hurs.rmate stae ad rea

Changing contracts of employmentAny changes to a contract o employment should be agreed with the

employee. Terminating the contracts o 20 or more employees in order

to change terms and conditions, such as hours or pay, may trigger the

legal obligation to consult as these are not related to the individual

even i you intend to reengage the sta on new contracts.

These terminations will be dismissals and may be challenged as unairat an Employment Tribunal. An employer will rely on some other

substantial reason as a air reason or dismissal and will need to show

that a air process was ollowed. For urther inormation see the Acas

guide Varying a contract o employment at www.acas.org.uk.



7. Hw shudcsutat ast?

The aw states whe csutatmust start. it des t sa hw

t must ast. The eth

csutat w ar deped

ddua crcumstaces.

Sme empers assume that

csutat has t ast at east 30 r

45 das, deped the umer

prpsed redudaces, ad startpa ack rm ths date.

Hweer, csutat ca e a

speeder r ether prcess,

deped the umer pepe

ed ad the cmpet the

stuat.

There s set perd r

csutat t ed. it ca edthe prescred mmum perds

etwee the start csutat ad

the dsmssas tak eect. The ke

pt s t hw the csutat

asts, ut that t s meau whe t

asts.

it s as t ecessar r the partes

ed t reach areemet r the

csutat t e cmpete. As

as there has ee eue

csutat wth a ew t reach

areemet, a emper ca ed

the csutat. Ths shud e

de whe the ca

demstrate that the hae steed

ad respded t the ews adsuests rased.

8. Whe d u carr utddua csutat?

Empers ma eed t e feeaut hw the arrae ddua

csutat. Sme rasats

wat ut cecte csutat has

eded, ere csut ddua

empees wh ma e at rsk

redudac. Hweer, there ma e

stuats whe t s apprprate t

ru cecte ad ddua

csutat ccurret.

Fr eampe, a emper ma hae

cme t a areemet wth

empee represetates the

umer redudaces ad hw

the w e seected, ut dscuss

ma st e t aree

redudac pamets. i ths

stuat t ma e wrth start tcsut wth aected empees

ddua.

or deret rups empees

mht e made redudat at deret

tmes. Fr eampe, a redudac

schedue r a saes team ad a

eeer team mht e

staered. i ths case, cecte

csutat mht e tak pace

r e rup at the same tme as

ddua csutat s r

the ther rup.


23/62

3

9. Whe des dsmssatake eect?

Redundancy notices must not beissued ut cecte ad ddua

csutat has ee cmpeted.

Ths tce ma e e ere the

ed the mmum perd, the

csutat s eue cmpete.

The dismissal itsel cannot take

eect ut the mmum perd has

epred ad ddua tce perdshae ee sered. The date the

dsmssas take eect ma, therere,

as deped up the perd

tce whch appes.

The emper must e at east the

mmum statutr tce perd.

Ths s:

e weeks tce the empeehas ee emped the

emper ctuus r e

mth r mre, ut r ess tha

tw ears; r

e weeks tce r each earemped the empee has

ee emped the emper

ctuus r tw ears rmre, up t a mamum

12 weeks. Fr eampe, a

empee has wrked r e

ears the the are etted t

e weeks tce.

Ths s the mmum perd tce.

The emper ad empee ca

aree a er perd tce the

ctract empmet.

The frst dismissal must not take

eect until the minimum period

has expired. The date whch a

dsmssa takes eect s the date

whch the tce epres, t the

date whch t s e.Empmet ca e termated

ere the ed tce perd

where a empee has areed t

take a pamet eu tce.

Examples of when dismissal might take effect

An employer is proposing to make 25 employees redundant at one

establishment over a period o 90 days. The minimum period between

when consultation must begin and when any dismissals take eect is

thereore 30 days. Although both parties undertake meaningul

consultation, it is not complete until day 40. At this point, the employer

may issue employees with their notices o redundancy.



Examples of when dismissal might take effect

(continued)The actual period or the redundancies to take eect would vary

according to the circumstances o individual employees, but

consultation must be genuinely complete beore statutory notice can

begin. For example:

Employee A has been with the business or just two months and hiscontract o employment does not reer to a notice period. However

the statutory minimum notice period is one week, which means that

once consultation is genuinely complete, the minimum time beore

the redundancy can take eect is 47 days (40 days consultation plus

seven days notice).

Employee B has been with the company or 13 years and hiscontract o employment contains a 28day notice period. However,

the minimum statutory notice period or an employee with at least

12 years continuous employment is 12 weeks (84 days). This means

that once consultation is genuinely complete, the minimum timebeore the redundancy can take eect is 124 days (40 days plus

84 days).

The consultation process can sometimes be completed sooner than

the minimum period, but statutory notice cannot end until ater the

minimum period has elapsed. For example, in the scenario described

above, consultation might be completed in 25 rather than 40 days. In

this situation, the minimum time beore the redundancy can take eect

ollowing the start o the consultation would be 32 days or Employee Aand 114 days or Employee B.

When employees do leave, they might also be entitled to redundancy

pay, which is worked out separately see Appendix 3, p51.


25/62

3

10. What are the rhts redress?

Where a emper as a wat cmp wth the requremets t

csut aut prpsed

redudaces, a cmpat ma e

made t a empmet trua. A

cmpat ma e made ether:

a apprprate trade u, r, cases where trade u s

recsed, a eected empeerepresetate aected

empees, r

where there s apprpratetrade u r ther eected

empee represetate, a

empee wh has ee r ma

e dsmssed.

The cmpat must e ded ether

ere the ast the dsmssas takes

eect r wth three mths ater the

ast them. i eceptacrcumstaces the trua ca aw

a er perd r a cmpat t e

ded.

A Acas ccatr ma assst

reach a sut whether r t a

appcat has ee made t a

empmet trua. i a settemet

s t reached ad the trua ds

the cmpat justed, a prtecte

award ma e made aur the

empees ccered.

idduas ma as e ae t make

a cmpat uar dsmssa the

ee the hae ee uar seected

r dsmssa (see p31).

Protective awards

Aprotective award requires employers to pay employees their normal

weeks pay or a period o time called the protected period.

The tribunal has the discretion in xing the length o that period,

depending upon what is just and equitable and taking account o theseriousness o the employers deault.

The maximum length o the protected period is 90 days in all cases

where 20 or more are to be made redundant.



Dealing with special cases

Cecte redudaces ad

TUPEThe Traser Udertaks

(Prtect Empmet)

Reuats (TUPE) prtects

empees terms ad cdts

empmet whe a usess s

traserred rm e wer t

ather. Empees the preus

wer whe the usess chaes

hads autmatca ecme

empees the ew emper

the same terms ad cdts.

its as ther empmet ctracts

had ra ee made wth the

ew emper. Ther ctut

serce ad a ther rhts are a

presered. bth d ad ewempers hae dutes t rm

ad ( sme cases) t csut a

empees aected drect r

drect the traser. Uke the

cecte redudac reuats,

there s trer r ths rht ased

up the umer empees

t appes whether e r 500

empees are aected.

but what happes ether the d r

ew emper prpses t make

redudaces dur r ater a

traser udertak?

Ths tm tw parae

csutat prcesses e r

cecte redudaces ad e r a

traser udertak ca cause

sme cus r empers. it ca

as e ucear t what etet the

ew r d emper shud eed csutat ad whether

t ca take pace ere the traser.

gd practce suests that the ew

ad d emper shud wrk

tether cperate t esure

eecte csutat. i sme

staces, the ew emper ca

start cecte redudac

csutat wth the traserr

empees ere the traser s

cmpeted.

The ermet s prps t

smp the TUPE reuats ad

prde mre detaed udace.

Fr urther rmat twww..uk/csutats.

Cecte redudaces ad

sec

Ma usesses d themsees

aced wth the prspect cecte

redudaces as a resut seere

aca dcutes. isec s areate cmm ccurrece ad s

t tse a speca crcumstace,

s empers are ed t csut

wth ther empees.

Mst rasats hae pet

war seere aca dcutes

ad t s mprtat that empers

start pa r csutat as
http://www.gov.uk/consultationshttp://www.gov.uk/consultations


27/62

4

s as t s recsed that Useu surces hepscat redudaces are ke As we as the JCetre Pus Rapdt ccur. Respse Serce Ead, PACE

Sctad ad ReAct Waes (seei a sec scear the p8 r detas), there are a umer respst t start the csutat ther rasats wh ca prderemas wth the drectrs at east hep dur a redudac stuat:ut the pt at whch the usess

eters t a rma secThe nata Careers Serce

prcedure (such as admstrat r prdes careers adce adqudat). i the drectrs r rmat a wde rae maaers a t csut cecte

js, tra curse resurcesere the rasat es t ad ud. Further rmatadmstrat, t s up t the s aaae rmsec practters t d s. https://atacareersserce.

drect..uk

Special circumstances

Employers can cite special circumstances as a legal deence against

their ailure to comply with the requirement to inorm and consult

employees.

These special circumstances are not legally dened but they must

make it impracticable or them to carry out their duty. Case law

suggests that they only apply in exceptional circumstances.

One situation that cannot count as a deence is when an employer

claims that they couldnt comply with their duty to consult because a

controlling body (head oce or parent company) had not supplied the

necessary inormation.
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/



The nata Appretceshps

Serce ers rmat aut

appretceshps, cud hw t

mht e psse t cmpetethem wth ather emper.

Further rmat s aaae

rm www.appretceshps.r.uk

The Taet Retet Sut

(TRS) prdes a dustred ad

sectrcused prramme

thruh whch t actate the

depmet ad retet ke

adaced mauactur ad

eeer sks acrss the UK.

Further rmat s aaae

rm www.taetretet.z/

lca cees ad tra

prders ca adse dduas

whether the mht e ee ru uded tra whch ca

hep them retra r upsk.

http://sksudaec.s..

uk/tra/

i a rm s ea set,

empees ma as e etted t

statutr redudac pamets

ad ther reated pametsthruh the Redudac

Pamets Serce. Further

rmat s aaae rm

www..uk/urrhtsur-

empersset/erew
http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/http://www.talentretention.biz/http://skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/training/http://skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/training/http://www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is-insolvent/overviewhttp://www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is-insolvent/overviewhttp://www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is-insolvent/overviewhttp://www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is-insolvent/overviewhttp://skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/training/http://skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/training/http://www.talentretention.biz/http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/


29/62

Looking ater your

employees and yourbusinessFr rasats t maae

cecte redudaces we ad

hep esure ther uture success,the eed:

good working relationships wth

empees, us ad empee

represetates

agreed procedures or handling

redundancies. Ths mht cude

a checkst, cer sme thessues cered ths ude

a rasata cuture that

recses the emotional as well

as economic impact chae

a plan or restructuring ad

k t the uture.

Work closely with unions and

employee representatives

Sme empers ew represetat

as a prcedura mechasm that

sws dw decs mak ad

dutes maaemet authrt. but

csutat s a etreme

mprtat part a chae

prcess ad whe aced wth the

prspect cecte redudacest s etter t hae a sstem pace

that s tred ad tested ad read

t use.

i recet ears, ma empers

hae ecme mre cmmtted t

the use drect methds

cmmucat ad emet.

Athuh reuar meets etweemaaers ad ther sta are

auae shar rmat

ad ett eedack, ete

eaemet s t the same as

rma csutat.

For details o the rights

employee representatives have

to time o and the use o

acilities, see the Acas guides

Union representation in the

workplace and Nonunion

representation in the workplace

at www.acas.org.uk

4



it s wrth est the tme ad

eer t mak reatshps wth

empees, empee represetates

ad us eecte ad prductes that eue csutat ca take

pace a ass.

The sstem csutat u

deep shud e ased, whereer

psse, :

the rue no surprises. i u

hae a daue, where

rmat s shared ad uture

deepmets are spsted,

there shud e surprses.

o curse, ecmc pressures

ca rce usesses t make

dcut decss er quck ut

there are usua war ss.

Empers ca use a aret meas t esure eere s kept

rmed ad ed, rm

rma sudsut t detaed

res ad etat

promoting awareness hw

pces ad prcedures wrk.

Empee represetates ca

make a mre pste ctrutt dscusss the kw hw

csutate cmmttees wrk.

Ths ca e epa ar

strahtrward ssues, such as

hw cmmttees are rmed, hw

ad whe ps are epressed

ad hw decss are made ad

recrded. or t ca mea prd

specast tra t hep

uderstad cmpe aca,

perata r esate ssues

trust and cooperation.Empers ad empee

represetates shud adpt a

carate rather tha a

adersara apprach t

csutat. The est pace t

start s the pe shar

rmat. Prtracted ad

uprducte meets ca ad

hamper the rasats

ecmc prspects ad wer

sta mrae

what works best or your

organisation.The kd

represetate rups u rm,

hw te the meet ad hw the

are rmed w part refect theddua characterstcs ur

usess. Fr eampe, the eth

csutat requred ma part

deped the ee eperece

empee represetates. As,

sme rasats csut

thse ssues requred aw,

whe thers are mre practe

ad csut a much wderrae ssues.


31/62

4

Develop a collective redundancy

procedure

Empers ma d t hepu taree a redudac prcedure

wth empee represetates ad

a recsed trade us. As we

as sett ut csutat

arraemets, a prcedure mht

cta the w:

1. the measures r avoiding,

reducing or mitigatingcmpusr redudaces

2. eera udace the selection

criteria t e used where

redudac s uadae

3. the pc hep redudat

empees ta tra r

search r alternative work.

Ad, reduce ad mtate

Sme the measures empers

mht csder t ad

redudaces, r mmse ther

mpact, cude:

ask r uteers t s t

ucmm t er ehaced

redudac pamets as a

cete t attract pepe t eae

atura empee turer

restrcts recrutmet

retra ad redepmet t

ther parts the rasat

reduct r ed ertme

A redudac prcedure ca e eeca r th empers ad empees:

For employers it: For employees and unions it:

helps retain skilled jobs helps to save jobs

reduces misunderstanding ensures air treatment

helps with better orward demonstrates concern or the

planning welare o all sta

makes change easier or reduces the ear o the

example, introducing new unknown

technologygives the opportunity to

helps cement buyin rom infuence management policy.

unions and employees.



trduct shrttme wrk

r temprar a (where ths s

prded r the ctract

empmet r a areedarat ts terms)

termat the empmet

temprar r ctract sta

appcats r sta t wrk

fe.

yu ma eed the prcedure t e

as fee as psse, s ud

sme rm r maeure. Ths w

e partcuar true the chce

seect crtera. Fr eampe, t ma

e ta that the usess matas

the rht aace sks ad

eperece rward.

Seect crtera

yu eed t det the rup

empees at rsk e made

redudat. Ths s kw as the

p seect ad t s t these

empees that u shud app the

apprprate seect crtera.

Cear deed ad areed seect

crtera w hep u t seect pepe

r redudac ar. The as hep

t esure that u are see t e ar.

Eampes such crtera cude:

attedace recrd (u shud

esure ths s accurate ad that

asece reat t dsat r

preac are t cuded)

dscpar recrd

sks r eperece

stadard wrk perrmace.

Ma rasats use a mture

seect crtera wehted as part

a seect matr (see Apped 2r a eampe). Ths heps t ad

eremphass e partcuar

seect crtera ad ca reduce the

rsk uar dscrmat aast

empees.

yu shud as estash a appeas

prcedure, s that empees hae

the chace t rase a ccersthe hae aut the wa the

seect crtera were apped.

Ths ma reduce the kehd

cmpats t empmet truas.


33/62

4

Automatically unfair selction criteria

Some selection criteria are automatically unair. You must not select

an employee or redundancy based on any o the ollowing reasons:

pregnancy: including all reasons relating to maternityamily: including parental leave, paternity leave (birth and adoption),

adoption leave or time o or dependants

acting as an employee representativeacting as a trade union representativejoining or not joining a trade unionbeing a parttime or xedterm employee (see Redundancy and the

law, Appendix 1 or urther clarication)

their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civilpartnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belie, sex

and sexual orientation

pay and working hours: or example, reusing to give up rest breaksor asserting ones right to the National Minimum Wage or statutory

holiday entitlement.

For urther inormation visit www.gov.uk
http://www.gov.uk/http://www.gov.uk/



Hep d ther wrk

A emper must seek t d a

sutae aterate empmet r

empees the are prps t

make redudat. Ths s t part

the cecte csutat prcess,

ut s a mprtat part k

ater the wee sta. The j

er prcess shud ru as ws:

The

employers

oer

In order to avoid the need to make a redundancy

payment, the oer must be made beore the

employment under the previous contract ends.

The oer must be or the new job to start either

immediately ater the end o the old job or ater aninterval o not more than our weeks.

The

employees

decision

Employees who unreasonably reuse an oer o

suitable alternative employment may lose any

entitlement to redundancy pay.

Unreasonable reusal may arise where the

dierences between the new and old jobs are

negligible.

Reusal may be reasonable i the new job would

cause domestic upheaval, or example i there was a

considerable change in working hours or a need to

move house.

The trial

period

An employee who is under notice o redundancy has

a statutory right to a trial period o our weeks

(extendable by agreement where training is involved)

in an alternative job where the provisions o the new

contract dier rom the original contract.

The trial period begins when the previous contract

has ended and ends our weeks ater the date on

which the employee starts work under the new

contract.


35/62

4

The trial The eect o the trial period is to give both theperiod employer and the employee a chance to decide

(continued) whether the new job is suitable. The employee willnot necessarily lose the right to a redundancy

payment.

I the employee works beyond the end o the ourweek period any redundancy entitlement will be lost

because the employee will be deemed to have

accepted the new employment (unless agreed

otherwise).

Tme t k r ew wrk r Addta assstace

r tra Empers shud thk careu

Empees wh are: aut a ther hep the ca e

empees aced wth redudaces.

Cuse, where resurces aw,uder tce redudac adca hep empees t cme t

terms wth the emta mpact hae ee ctuus empede made redudat.r at east tw ears

irmat the aca eects qua r a statutr ettemet t aredudac ca as e er hepureasonable amount o time o t r eampe, k at redudack r ather j r t arraepa, pess ad state eets.tra.

Jcetre Pus hae a RapdThe emper des t hae t paRespse Serce whch hepsmre tha 40% a weeks pa,dduas t me quck treardess the eth tme aterate empmet wthut theawed. Where psse, emperseed t cam weare eets. Theshud eted such assstace t aca as hep empees wrte Cvsempees wh are aected ad d js. Fr urther rmatredudac.st www..uk/staredudat/

erew
http://www.gov.uk/staff-redundant/overviewhttp://www.gov.uk/staff-redundant/overviewhttp://www.gov.uk/staff-redundant/overviewhttp://www.gov.uk/staff-redundant/overview



Redundancy in Scotland

i Sctad, Rapd Respse Serce

supprt s deered thruh

Partershp Act r Ctu

Empmet (PACE) theres mre

rmat the Sks

Deepmet Sctad weste.

Aterate, u ca phe the

Scttsh ata redudac hepe

0808 100 1855.

Redundancy in Wales

Fr empees wh e Waes the

Wesh germets ReAct

Prramme, prdes a packae

supprt t hep pepe a ew

sks, ercme staces ad

mpre ther chaces retur t

wrk as shrt a tme as psse

ater redudac. Fr urtherrmat st www.waes..ukr

ctact the ReAct Hepe 01792

765888.

Recognise how people eel

Dea wth redudaces the rht

wa depeds three ths:

1. strategic vision ths meas

e ae t pa ahead as we

as u ca, ad share thse pas

wth ur empee

represetates

2. redundancy procedure hw

redudaces w e aded rmmsed ad what seect

crtera w e used

3. psychology uderstad ur

empees w hep u dea wth

the pepe part redudaces

as seste ad ar as

psse.

These three actrs are er much

tercected. Fr eampe, ur

redudac prcedure shud state

hw u w share ur pas r the

uture. Ad dscusss wth

empee represetates ad

empees shud e ased a

uderstad hw the chaes

w aect dduas emta ad

pschca. Empers ma as

eed t stress that rder t k

ater ther rema empees, the

hae a respst t k ater the

terests the rasat.
http://wales.gov.uk/http://wales.gov.uk/


37/62

4

lk ater empee wee redudac stuats

Employers:

a vision going forward an agreed redundancy procedure organisational culture that

promotes emotional intelligence

Survivors:

witness how fairly colleagues

are treated

helped to deal with stress

become part of the visiongoing forward

trained in any new duties

Strategy

Procedures

Psychology

Employees losing their jobs:

informed and consulted individually

given genuine help finding other

work or training

treated with respect and dignity

The pers wh has t reak the

ad ews

Recet Acas research has shed ht

the ta re the teer ad ews

ca hae :

hw we empees cpe atere made redudat

the mrae ad ees mtat the empees wh sta

the era success theusess rerasat r

dwsz.

Line managers:

kept informed of developments

trained in handling difficult

emotional situations

supported in their role as

intermediaries

The pers wh reaks the ad

ews t a ddua aut a

redudac s te ther e

maaer athuh the ma as

e a huma resurces specast,

r a csutat rm utsde the

rasat.

The ma e epected t:

act as the k etwee therasats tpee decs

makers ad empees at rsk



meet ad ase wth at rsk

empees er wh ma e

ea r med t ther js

supprt empees emta

ad hep them d ther wrk.

Ma maaers are qute uprepared

r the rae emts the wace. Empees are, uderstada,

te ar ad shcked aut

whats happe t them.

As the daram shws, empers

k ater ther e maaers, the

maaers w take etter care

thse the rece ed ad

ews. Ad thse wh se ther

js are treated wth dt ad

respect, the thse wh rema are

mre ke t ee eaed wth the

rasat rward.

lk ater thse wh are st

emped

There s creas awareess the

mpact that redudaces hae

the rema empees. Addta

hep, especa the rm et-

e cmmucat ad cuse,

ca e partcuar eeca r

thse aected surr

sdrme. Dur csutat,

empers shud csder the

An employer should ensure the person who breaks the bad news is:

Fully inormed: they should ully understand the organisationsbusiness rationale or downsizing and be able to put this in context

when communicating to aected employees.

Trained: at the very least think about training in having challenging

conversations.

Not over-worked: their role is likely to bring very long hours with

emotional strain.

Not isolated: they should have others to turn to or moral support.

Aware o the role o trade unions: research has ound that union

representatives oten proved to be a source o support and guidance

or the managers having to break the bad news.

Acas research paper, Downsizing envoys: a public/private sector

comparison, Dr Ian Ashman


39/62

4

mpact redudaces the

wrkad these surrs.

Suerers surr sdrme teeperece ees ut, w

mrae ad a eera sese

dseaemet rm ther

rasat ater sur j cuts.

i cmm wth the smptms

ma meta heath prems,

surr sdrme udermes

reatshps at wrk. A recet sure

rm the iRS Empmet Reew

ds that:

65% empers sureed

reprted that stress had creased

am empees wh hae

sured e r mre redudac

prrammes

63.8% areed that t s dcut t

esure empees ctue t

trust us w redudac

prrammes.

Hw empees react t see ther

ceaues r reds made

redudat w deped a reat dea

ther ddua pschcamakeup. gett t kw ur sta

ca hep u t make the

rerasat r dwsz a ess

stressu eperece.

A etter uderstad psch

ad team damcs w as hep t

rm ur cmmucats strate

ett acrss ur s r the

uture ad er reassurace.

Fr mre rmat maa

meta heath see the Acas ude

Prmt pste meta heath atwrk at www.acas.r.uk.

Restructuring: a plan or the

uture

Maa cecte redudaces

eecte w hep prde a d

udat r restructur theusess rward. ope

chaes cmmucat ad

eue csutat ased trust

ad carat w eae u t:

et empee cmmtmet r

ew wrk practces ad

rasata as

e mre fee the wa u

respd t market rces

deep cear messaes aut the

uture drect the usess.

There s ud t e a d dea

suspc ad aet aut uture

wrk prspects ater a rud cecte redudaces. Empees

ma ee dstracted ad ess ae t

e u eaed ther wrk. A

ht empee represetates ad

maaers retreat t a us ad

them pst w rerce

pepes wrst ears.



Here are sme tps r mata

ees empee eaemet

dur ad ater a restructur

prcess:

dt aad ur vision

empees eed hpe w mre

tha eer. but e reastc

ase prmses!

keep talking empees a

chace t hae a sa s crtca r

mrae ad mtat

dt aad ur line

managers keep them reed

deepmets ad, where

resurces aw, e them tra

scaed st maaemet

sks such as acte ste ad

had dcut cersats

wrk at ur reatshps wth

unions and/or employee

representatives. i u hae set

up csutate r jt wrk

rups, wh t use them t

csut ther wrkpace ssues

a ass?

use ur perormance

management sstem t re-

erce cmpa aues arud

emta teece

tr t pa attet t the health

and wellbeing sta Acas has

pushed useu udes t Heath,

wrk ad wee adPrmt pste meta heath

at wrk (aaae at www.acas.

r.uk/pucats)
http://www.acas.org.uk/pulicationshttp://www.acas.org.uk/pulicationshttp://www.acas.org.uk/pulicationshttp://www.acas.org.uk/pulications


41/62

Appendix 1: Redundancy

and the law

Redundancy defnition or:

Redundancy

payments and

unair

dismissal

Under the Employment Rights Act 1996,

redundancy arises when employees are dismissed

because:

the employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to

carry on the business or the purposes o which

the employee was so employed; or

the employer has ceased, or intends to cease,

to carry on the business in the place where the

employee was so employed; or

the requirements o the business or employeesto carry out work o a particular kind has ceased

or diminished or are expected to cease or

diminish; or

the requirements o the business or the

employees to carry out work o a particular kind,

in the place where they were so employed, has

ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or

diminish.

The right to be

consulted

When an employer proposes to make 20 or more

employees redundant in one establishment over 90

days or less, the law denes redundancy as:

dismissal or a reason not related to the individual

concerned or or a number o reasons all o which

are not so related.

5



Rights o employee representatives

The right to

time o,

training and

acilities

Representatives o employees have particular rights

and protections which enable them to carry out

their unctions properly. The rights o trade union

members, including ocials, are contained in

separate legislative provisions, but are essentially

the same as those o other elected representatives,

and include time o or duties in relation to

redundancy inormation and consultation.

Legislation concerning elected representatives

provides that:

employers must allow representatives access toaected employees and to provide them with

accommodation and acilities i necessary

representatives and candidates or election havea right to reasonable time o with pay to carry

out their unctions and or training in connectionwith those unctions

representatives and candidates or election havea right not to be subjected to dismissal or any

detriment because o their status or activities.

The dismissal o an elected representative or

candidate or election will be automatically unair

i it is wholly or mainly related to the employees

status or activities as a representative

any employee is unairly dismissed i the mainreason or the dismissal is that he or she took

part in an election o employee representatives

or collective redundancy purposes. An employer

may not subject an employee to any detriment on

the ground that he or she participated in an

election o such a representative.


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5

A complaint may be made to an employment

tribunal by elected representatives or, where

appropriate, candidates or election, concerningthese rights. An Acas conciliator may assist in

reaching a solution whether or not an application

has been made to an employment tribunal.

For urther inormation see the Acas guides Trade

union representation in the workplace and

Nonunion representation in the workplace at

www.acas.org.uk/publications

The

Inormation

and

Consultation

o Employees

Regulations

The Inormation and Consultation o Employees

Regulations (oten abbreviated to the ICE Regs)

were introduced on 6 April 2005 and apply to

businesses with 50 or more employees. The

regulations give employees the right, subject to

certain conditions, to request that their employer

sets up or changes arrangements to inorm and

consult them about issues in the organisation.The requirement to inorm and consult employees

does not operate automatically. It can occur either

by a ormal request rom employees or an

agreement, or by employers choosing to start the

process. I a company already has a preexisting

agreement in place to inorm and consult it may not

be necessary to make any changes. To be valid the

preexisting agreement must:

be in writing

cover all the employees in the undertaking

set out how the employer will inorm and consult

employees or representatives

be approved by employees.
http://www.acas.org.uk/publicationshttp://www.acas.org.uk/publications



Discriminatory

or unair

selection

A redundancy dismissal may be ound to be

discriminatory under employment equality

legislation where selection was on grounds o sex,marital status, race, disability, sexual orientation,

age, or religion or belie.

For example, selecting parttimers or redundancy

may amount to indirect discrimination against

women. In such circumstances employers must

show that the selection is justiable. For example,

this may be possible i the employer can

demonstrate that it is not practicable to t parttimers who are predominantly emale into revised

shit patterns.

Employers need to be able to show that in selecting

a particular employee they had compared him or

her in relation to the agreed selection criteria with

those others who might have been made redundant

and that, as a result, it emerged that the employee

was airly selected. A claim or unair selection mayalso arise where the employer has ailed to

undertake a reasonable search or alternative work

throughout the organisation.


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5

Notifcation o

redundancies

It is a criminal oence not to notiy the Secretary o

State or Business, Innovation and Skills o

proposed redundancies. This must be done:

at least 30 days beore the rst dismissal takeseect where the employer proposes to dismiss

2099 employees at one establishment within

90 days or less

at least 45 days beore the rst dismissal takeseect where the employer proposes to dismiss

100 or more employees at one establishment

within 90 days or less.

Swit notication will allow Jobcentre Plus Rapid

Response Service (PACE in Scotland and ReAct

in Wales see p8) to help the employees involved

to retrain or nd alternative work.

A copy o the HR1 Advance Notication o

redundancies orm can be obtained rom the

Insolvency Service at www.insolvency.gov.uk/orms/orms.htm (tel: 0121 678 1936). A copy o this rom

must also be sent to all representatives who are to

be consulted.
http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/forms/forms.htmhttp://www.insolvency.gov.uk/forms/forms.htmhttp://www.insolvency.gov.uk/forms/forms.htmhttp://www.insolvency.gov.uk/forms/forms.htm



Fixed-term

employees

The Fixedterm Employees (Prevention o Less

Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 (SI

2002/2034) give xedterm employees the right:

not to be treated less avourably than acomparable permanent employee with regards to

terms and conditions o employment

to be inormed o suitable permanent vacanciesin the organisation

to have their contracts automatically converted toindenite ones ater our years (the our yearsmust start ater 10 July 2002 and the employee

must have been employed on successive

contracts) unless the employer has a good

reason not to do so

the right not to be selected or redundancy or beunairly dismissed i the principal reason or the

selection was because they were a xedterm

employeeto make a complaint to a tribunal seeking a

written statement which sets out the reasons or

the less avourable treatment complained o.

The right to no less avourable treatment applies

where:

the less avourable treatment is on the groundsthat the employee is on a xedterm contract and

the dierence in treatment cannot be justied onobjective grounds.


47/62

Appendix 2: Sample

orms: Selection Matrix/Redundancy agreement

1. Selection Matrix

bew s a eampe a seect

matr that cud e used a wde

aret wrkpace setts. Us a

matr s creas ppuar

ecause the:

cta areed actrs that ca e

apped t a dduas (athuh

empers smetmes use a

deret matr r deret rups empers r eampe, the

eeer team mht hae a

deret e rm the saes team)

ca e eas epaed t a sta

adace t as heps

empee represetates hae

ee csuted whe draw

them up

are et ar a empees

e a cear, structured ad

csstet sstem r maa

seect ssues

ca e used at truas t deed

a empers decs.

it s wrth emphass that

empers shud hae wrtte

edece aast each the crterasted ew.

The ollowing weightings are given

or illustrative purposes only. It is

up to an employer to decide upon

the criteria and weightings that

best apply to their business. This

should be done in conjunction

with their employeerepresentatives.

6



Eampe crtera ees: pts acated ater weht

Work Perormance Points

1. outstad csstet eceeds cmpa stadard 152. Eceeds jectes the re 12

3. Meets a jectes the re 9

4. Meets sme jectes the re 6

5. Fas t meet jectes the re 3

Skill/Competence

1. Fu cmpetet, mutsked, supprts thers reuar ass 15

2. Fu cmpetet curret re 12

3. Cmpetet mst aspects curret re, requres sme supers 9

4. Sme cmpetece re, requres reuar supers ad udace 6

5. Cat uct wthut cse supprt ad/r supers 3

Disciplinary record

1. n recrd dscpar act 5

2. Recrd rma dscpar act 4

3. vera war curret 3

4. Wrtte war curret 2

5. Fa wrtte war curret 1

Attendance record*

1 n recrded asece 5

2 Sme asece ut ew aerae r seect p (r cmpa) 4

3 Attedace e wth cmpa (r seect p) aerae 34 Asece ee ae aerae r seect p (r cmpa) 2

5 Hh/uacceptae ee asece 1

* Empers shud re a aseces reated t dsat r preac.


49/62

6

2. Sample Redundancy

Procedure

The w pararaphs areprded as a checkst r empers

ad empee represetates the

areas cmm cered

redudac areemets. Each

rasat s uque ad eer

areemet shud e tared t meet

the crcumstaces the case. it s

prded t ustrate d

practce ut ca e used as a assr draw up a redudac

areemet.

Preame

Redudac areemets rma

e wth a statemet tet

th partes twards mata

securt empmet, whereerpractcae.

For example:

it s the pc Cmpa x

careu rward pa t esure as

ar as psse securt

empmet r ts empees.

Hweer, t s recsed that therema e chaes cmpette

cdts, rasata

requremets ad techca

deepmets whch ma aect

sta eeds. it s the areed am

the Cmpa ad the Trade U(s)

t mata ad ehace the

ecec ad prtat the

Cmpa rder t saeuard the

curret ad uture empmet

the Cmpas empees. The

Cmpa, csutat wth the

Trade U(s), w seek t mmsethe eect redudaces thruh

the prs sucet tme ad

ert t d aterate

empmet r surpus sta. Where

cmpusr redudac s etae

the Cmpa w hade the

redudac the mst ar,

csstet ad smpathetc maer

psse ad mmse as ar as

psse a hardshp that ma e

suered the empees

ccered.

Csutat

The w areas are usua

cered:

a cmmtmet t keep ca trade

u/empee represetates

rmed as u as psse aut

sta requremet ad a eed

r redudaces

the perd(s) csutat

areed (whch ma eceed themmum requred aw)

rmat whch empee

represetate(s) w e csuted

ad a cmmtmet t csder

a aterate prpsas wth a

ew t reach areemet

was ad dsmssas,

reduc the umer empees



t e dsmssed ad hw t

mtate the eect the

dsmssas

dscsure rmat requred

aw:

the reass r the prpsas

the umers ad descrpts

empees t s prpsed t

dsmss as redudat the tta

umer empees a

such descrpt emped at

the estashmet quest

the wa whch empees w

e seected r redudac

hw the dsmssas are t e

carred ut, cud the perder whch the dsmssas are t

take eect

the methd cacuat the

amut redudac

pamets t e made t thse

wh are dsmssed

aec wrkers: the umer aec wrkers, where the are

wrk ad the tpe wrk

the are d

addta areas whch t

csut, r eampe:

the eect ears where

traser r dwrad s

accepted preerece t

redudac

arraemets r trae,rema ad reated epeses

where wrk s accepted

ather ste wed the

Cmpa

arraemets r reasae

tme wth pa t seek

aterate wrk t make

arraemet r tra

assstace wth j seek

arraemets r the traser

appretceshps.

Measures t ad r t mmseredudac

icuded ths pararaph w e

detas ut hw eer ert w

e made t reduce the umer

psse redudaces, r eampe

:

atura wastae

restrct the recrutmet

permaet sta

reduc the use temprar

sta

acaces rm am

est empees


51/62

6

reduc ertme as much as

prduct requremets w

permt

reduc the hurs wrk, r

eampe, the perat

shrttme wrk

tra, retra r redep

empees r deret wrk r

whch there s a requremet ether

at the same r at a deret

cat.

Seect crtera

i, ha take a the ae

steps, the umer empees st

eceeds requremets, detas shud

e e aut hw empees w

e seected r redudac, ad whm. Fr eampe, seect ma

e ased :

the sks, eperece ad apttude

the empee

the stadard wrk perrmace

the attedace r dscparrecrd the empee.

it s usua t cude a statemet

a cmmtmet t a ar,

csstet, jecte ad

dscrmatr seect

prcedure.

Assstace wth j seek

A ackwedemet shud e

cuded recs the statutr

rht empees t tme t k

r wrk r arrae r tra r

ew empmet. A tet

the Cmpa t prde urther

actes shud as e cuded.

Cuse

larer cmpaes ma wsh tprde actes r a cuse

serce ste t e thse

empees wh are t e made

redudat the w:

aca adce

udace hw t d

ather j

adce cmpet

appcat rms

udace atted terews.

Seerace pamets

Detas shud e prded aut

hw a seerace pa w e

cacuated ad hw cmmss,

ertme pamets, accrued hda

pa ad tme eu t take w

e pad.



Appeas ad hardshp

The prcedure r dea wth the

rht appea ad cases hardshp

shud e epaed.

Reew ad termat

Detas shud e e aut reuar

reew the areemet ad the

prcedure r termat t.


53/62

Appendix 3: Statutory

redundancy payments: anoutline

Who qualies or a redundancy

payment?

A statutr pamet s due the

wrker s a empee wth at east

tw ears ctuus serce.

Who does not qualiy or a

redundancy payment?

The w rups empees

d t qua:

merchat seame, rmer

restered dck wrkers eaed

dck wrk (cered ther

arraemets) r share sherme

crw serats, memers the

armed rces r pce serces

appretces wh are t

empees at the ed ther

tra

a dmestc serat wh s a

memer the empers

mmedate am.

What are the payments?

Fr each cmpete ear serce up

t a mamum 20, empees are

etted t:

r each ear serce uder

22 ha a weeks pa

r each ear serce at ae 22

ut uder 41 e weeks pa

r each ear serce at ae 41

r er e ad a ha weeks

pa.

A emper shud e a

empee a wrtte statemet hw

the redudac pamet s

cacuated. Fr a read recker t

hep u wth ur cacuats stwww..uk

What is a weeks pay?

A weeks pa s that whch the

empee s etted t uder hs r

her terms the ctract at the

cacuat date. The cacuat

date s the date whch the

7
http://www.gov.uk/http://www.gov.uk/



emper es the empee the

mmum tce t whch he r she s

ea etted. i the pa ares (e:

thruh pecewrk), the amut the weeks pa s aeraed er the

12 weeks prr t the cacuat

date. There s a mamum statutr

mt (450 rm 1 Feruar 2013)

the amut a weeks pa that ma

e recked. Ths ure s reewed

aua. Empers ma, pa

ecess the statutr mmum.

How does an employee claim a

payment?

There s eed r the empee t

make a cam uess the emper

as t pa r dsputes the

empees ettemet. Shud there

e a aure t pa, the empeemust make a wrtte request t the

emper r t a empmet

trua wth s mths the date

the j eded.

What i an employer cannot

pay?

i the emper has cashfw

prems s serus that mak the

redudac pamet wud damae

the usess, arraemets ca e

made the Departmet r

busess, iat ad Sks (biS)

t pa the empee drect rm the

nata isurace Fud. The

emper s epected t pa ackthe pamet as s as psse,

ecessar stamets. i the

emper s set, the pamet

s aa made biS ad the

empers share recered rm theassets the usess.

Is statutory redundancy pay

taxable?

A statutr redudac pamet s

t taae, up t 30,000, ut the

emper ma set t aast ta as ausess epese.


55/62

Appendix 4: Employee

representatives election and roles and

responsibilities

Election o employee

representatives

The rues are:

1) The emper sha make such

arraemets as are reasa

practca t esure that the

eect s ar.

2) The emper sha determe the

umer represetates t e

eected s that there are sucet

represetates t represet the

terests a the aected

empees, ha reard t the

umer ad casses thse

empees.

3) The emper sha determe

whether the aected empees

shud e represeted ether

represetates a the aected

empees r represetates

partcuar casses thse

empees.

4) bere the eect the emper

sha determe the term ce

as empee represetates s

that t s sucet eth t

eae reeat rmat t e

e ad csutats t e

cmpeted.

5) The caddates r eect asempee represetates are

aected empees the date

the eect.

6) n aected empee s

ureasa ecuded rm

stad r eect.

7) A aected empees the date

the eect are etted t te

r empee represetates.

8



8) The empees etted t te

ma te r as ma caddates

as there are represetates t e

eected t represet them; r, there are t e represetates r

partcuar casses empees,

r as ma caddates as there

are represetates t e eected

t represet ther partcuar cass

empee.

9) The eect s cducted s as t

secure that:

a. s ar as s reasa

practcae, thse t d s

secret, ad

. the tes e at the eect

are accurate cuted.

Where a empee represetate s

eected accrdace wth these

rues ut susequet ceases t act

as such ad, csequece, certa

empees are er

represeted, ather eect shud

e hed sats the rues set ut at

(1), (5), (6) ad (9) ae.

Role o the employee

representative in redundancy

consultationsThe prmar re s t take a acte

part the cecte csutat

meets wth the rasat :

epr was whch

redudaces ca e aded r

reduced

dscuss the prpsed methd seect the empees wh

ma e dsmssed

dscuss what supprt ad

assstace s prded t aected

empees ad what the eemets

the redudac packae

shud e.

T udertake ths re, empee

represetates w eed t:

uderstad maaemets

prpsas

uderstad the ma ea

requremets (t epected t ea epert)

reprt ack t empees the

prpsas ad share rmat *

seek empees quests, ews

ad suests.


57/62

8

dscuss wth ther represetates

the cecte sta respse

meet wth maaemet ad reprtack the sta respse

eae a pe daue amed

at prems ad reach

areemet

reprt ack t empees the

utcmes csutats.

Hepu ehaurs ad atttudes

e kw t ur csttuets ad

ecurae ther emet

e cear hw u w

cmmucate ad eae wth

csttuets (meets, ema,traet, sureres)

aree tme ad use actes

(rms, ema, traet,

tceards)

prepare r, atted ad partcpate

the csutat meets

ste t, quest ad car

maaemet prpsas

ce quests ad ccers

ad make suests ad

prpsas

reprt majrt ews ut as

refect mrt ps

respect ps thers ee

u dsaree wth them

seek t aree acceptae sutst prems ac empees ad

the rasat.

Rhts empee

represetates

reasae tme wth pa t

perrm ther dutes ad receetra

reasae access t csttuet

empees ad use rasat

actes

t t e sujected t dsmssa r

detrmet ecause ther status.

* (nte: t s maaemets prmar

re t esure d cmmucats

the csutat prcess.)


59/6257


61/62

Information in this booklet has been revised up to the date of the last

reprint see date below. For more up-to-date information, please check

the Acas website www.acas.org.uk.

Legal information is provided for guidance only and should not be

regarded as an authoritative statement of the law, which can only be

made by reference to the particular circumstances which apply.

It may, therefore, be wise to seek legal advice.

Acas aims to improve organisations and working life through better

employment relations. We provide up-to-date information, independent

advice, high quality training and we work with employers and employees

to solve problems and improve performance.

We are an independent, publicly-funded organisation and

many of our services are free.

April 2013


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Documents

How to Manage Collective Redundancies