With the continuing challenges of COVID19, many employers may find themselves planning redundancies for the first time…
Any redundancy dismissal in the workplace can give rise to a successful unfair dismissal claim if not managed correctly.
If 20+ redundancies at one establishment are contemplated within a 90-day period, the employer has extra obligations to carry out collective consultation before taking any action. This needs to take place with a recognised trade union or with employee representatives elected by the affected employees. Such consultation should involve a genuine attempt to avoid the redundancies or mitigate their impact and must commence at least 30 days prior to any dismissals (45 days before where 99+ redundancies are contemplated).
The penalty for failing to comply is a protective award for each affected employee of up to 90 day’s pay!
Handling collective consultation for the first time can be a daunting prospect, but it doesn’t need to be with the right advice and support.
A good start would be to download our Factsheet on Collective Consultation, which provides useful guidance on the steps to follow.
For further guidance, please speak to any of our consultants, who can provide advice, training, template documents and on-site support as required.
In our next feature, we’ll be looking at how to avoid a successful unfair dismissal claim when making an employee redundant.
Call eml to discuss our Redundancy Consultation service on 01942 727 200