The doom and gloom of the credit crunch may be lifted temporarily with the interruption of the festive season, however, if current forecasts across most segments of the economy are to be believed, employers should be focussing their attentions on ensuring their redundancy procedures are watertight if the pain of making redundancies is to be mitigated as far as possible for all concerned.
Here are some top tips for ensuring fair redundancies:
- Give full and fair notice
Make sure employees are aware of the reasons why redundancies have become necessary. Give as much notice as possible prior to consultation beginning. Document notice to employees and ensure all potentially affected parties are informed.
- Be aware of collective consultation duties
If >20 employees are proposed for redundancy at one establishment, collective consultation must begin at least 30 days before the proposed effective date of the 1st dismissal.
If >100 employees are proposed, collective consultation begin at least 90 days before the proposed effective date of the 1st dismissal.
Remember to send an HR1 to the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform.
Employee representatives must be appointed where there are no relevant Trade Union representatives.
- Be aware of the statutory dismissal procedures
In cases where there are less than 20 employees, these still apply –
even in many cases of voluntary redundancy. Employers must:
- write and inform the employee of the full facts and circumstances leading to redundancies being considered
- invite the employee to a meeting (normally more than one in redundancy cases) before selection
is confirmed
- allow the employee the right of appeal
Although these rules will be repealed on 6 April 2009 under the Employment Act 2008, falling foul of them before then can result in automatically unfair dismissals – whether or not by redundancy.
- Never confirm an employee (or their role) is selected for redundancy until consultation has been fully exhausted and the employee has confirmed they have nothing else to put forward. Remember – this should be the last thing an employer does before dismissal.
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