EMPLOYMENT LAW

Redundancy Solicitors

If you are being made redundant there are many employment laws that might give you protection and/or our expert redundancy solicitors can help you achieve the best settlement in your redundancy package.  So, if  you are being made redundant and would like to discuss any aspect of that redundancy with our employment lawyers, please reach out.

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Employment FAQs

Redundancy happens where an employer needs to reduce its workforce, close a workplace, or move to a new workplace and terminates employees’ employment as a result.

Employers should follow a fair procedure before making redundancies, including a fair and objective selection process. If you have more than two years’ service, you have unfair dismissal rights and may be entitled to claim unfair dismissal if your employer doesn’t comply with their obligations. Even with less than two years’ service, you may have other claims if your employer e.g. selects you for redundancy because of a prohibited reason like discrimination.

You would be entitled to pay up to the termination date, notice of termination or payment in lieu of notice, statutory redundancy pay (if you have more than two years’ service), and accrued holiday pay.

Employers should follow a fair and objective process to make sure employees are selected fairly for redundancy. The process will differ depending on whether there are more or less than 20 employees to be made redundant.

If less than 20 employees are at risk of redundancy, there is no set procedure or set time for consultation. However, employers should consult with employees and conduct an objective selection process before deciding who to make redundant.

If 20 or more employees are proposed to be made redundant, employers will have to go through a collective consultation procedure. Where 20 to 99 redundancies are proposed, consultation must last for at least 30 days before any employees are dismissed. Where 100 or more redundancies are proposed, consultation must last for at least 45 days before any employees are dismissed.

Employers should use objective selection criteria for redundancy, that can be independently verified.

Examples of criteria that are likely to be fair are things like attendance (though don’t count pregnancy/maternity or disability related absences), disciplinary records, length of service (but not in isolation). So, even ostensibly objective criteria can be problematic! Seek advice on what would be appropriate objective criteria for your business.

You can volunteer (as in there’s nothing to stop you if that’s what you want to do), but if your employer isn’t seeking volunteers, there is no requirement for them to accept your request to be made redundant. There are pros and cons of volunteering, whether or not your employer is asking for volunteers, so it’s best to get advice before going ahead, to ensure you can protect your position.

Employers should consider suitable alternative employment for any employees selected for redundancy. Employees should be given the opportunity to apply for any vacancies, suitable or not, but should be offered suitable alternative employment if available.

Women on maternity leave have additional protection in that they must be offered (not just given the opportunity to apply for) any suitable alternative employment elsewhere in the organisation. This is a really tricky area, so whether you’re the employer or employee in this situation, it’s best to get advice before doing anything, to ensure compliance and reduce risks.

Employees should be given the chance to appeal against their selection for redundancy. It’s a good idea to get advice on how best to present your appeal, especially if you believe you have been selected for discriminatory reasons, or feel that you’ve been treated in any way unfairly.

You should get your redundancy pay shortly after the termination of your employment. If your employer doesn’t tell you when they will pay you, then do ask them.

Generally, you’ll be entitled to notice pay (if you haven’t worked your notice period), statutory redundancy pay (if you’ve got more than two years’ employment) and accrued holiday pay.

No, if an employer wants to make redundancies, they should go through a redundancy consultation procedure before deciding who to dismiss.

However, it is not uncommon for employers to take a “commercial” decision to have “without prejudice” or “protected” conversations with pre-selected employees, in which they offer a Settlement Agreement with an offer of additional compensation as a “sweetener” to sign up. It’s possible that this is unfair, depending on how it’s done, but that would depend on the circumstances. In any event, regardless of any unfairness or potential claims, many employees choose to accept a Settlement Agreement as a commercially pragmatic solution to get some compensation in return for leaving.

A Settlement Agreement is the only way by which an employee can validly waive their rights to bring employment related claims against their employer.

To be valid, a Settlement Agreement has to comply with various requirements, including that it must list all claims being given up, confirm that the employee has had independent legal advice on the terms and effect of entering into the Settlement Agreement, and identify the solicitor who has advised the employee. It is also usual for the employer to pay at least a contribution if not the full amount of the employee’s legal fees for the required advice.

Our standard fees start at £500 plus VAT for a straightforward Settlement Agreement where there is no negotiation on the payments to be made and no significant changes to the other terms of the Agreement. Some employers offer to contribute less than this, but we find this is the “market rate” that the vast majority of employers are prepared to meet. If your fees exceed your employer’s contribution, we would simply send invoices to both you and your employer.

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