Disciplinary and Grievance
Guidance for employers managing disciplinary, performance, and grievance processes fairly.
EMPLOYMENT LAW
Redundancy
SPECIALIST EMPLOYMENT LAW SERVICES
Managing redundancy correctly to protect your business
Expert advice for employers on redundancy processes, covering consultation requirements, selection criteria, documentation and settlement agreements.
Making redundancies is difficult, and getting it wrong can lead to unfair dismissal claims even where the business reasons are sound. Our expert employment team guides you through every stage, helping you act correctly and reduce the risk of claims.
Involve us early
Contact us before speaking to any affected staff, so we can advise on the correct process.
Consultation requirements
Our team explains your consultation obligations, which vary depending on the number of roles affected.
Selection criteria
We help you identify the pool of affected staff and set fair selection criteria.
Redundancy documentation
We prepare and review all redundancy documentation, including letters, notices and records.
Settlement agreements
We advise on using settlement agreements at the end of a redundancy process to protect your business from claims.
EMPLOYMENT LAW EXPERTISE
Contact us before you speak to any staff
We advise employers on redundancy at the planning stage, before any conversations with affected staff take place. Starting the process correctly gives your business the best possible foundation for what follows.
The steps you must follow depend on the number of employees involved and the roles affected. We support you through consultation, selection and documentation, and advise on settlement agreements where these are appropriate at the end of the process.
Redundancy planning and consultation
We advise on the correct process for individual and collective redundancies, including how to carry out a fair and lawful consultation with affected staff.
Selection criteria and pools
We help you identify the pool of at-risk employees, set objective selection criteria and score employees fairly to minimise the risk of claims.
Redundancy documentation
We prepare and review all redundancy documentation, including at-risk letters (letters notifying employees that their role may be at risk of redundancy), consultation records, redundancy notices and settlement agreements at the end of the process.
OUR SERVICES
Related Services
Our employment law team covers a broad range of employment law services. Explore the related areas below to find out more.
Employment Contracts
Support drafting and reviewing employment contracts that protect business interests.
Fosters HR
Flexible HR and employment law support for businesses needing practical guidance.
HR and Advisory Support
Ongoing employment law advice for employers managing day to day HR issues.
Settlement Agreements
Support preparing settlement agreements that resolve workplace issues commercially and clearly.
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OUR CREDENTIALS
Redundancy advice for businesses of all sizes
Our employment team advises businesses of all sizes on redundancy processes, helping you manage individual and collective redundancies correctly. We hold Lexcel accreditation and the Customer Service Excellence quality mark. Our advice is practical and focused on protecting your business from unfair dismissal claims.
Lexcel accredited
Law Society quality standard for legal practice management, held for over 10 years.
Customer service excellence
Holders of the national quality mark for outstanding client care.
Fosters HR
Our fixed-fee employment service gives you expert employment advice at a predictable monthly cost.
FAQs
Redundancy FAQs
As early as possible, and certainly before you speak to any affected staff. The process you must follow can vary significantly depending on how many roles are at risk and the nature of those roles.
Contacting us before you begin means we can advise on the correct process, help you avoid common procedural errors and give you the best chance of managing the redundancy without a subsequent employment claim.
Collective consultation applies when you are proposing to make 20 or more employees redundant within a 90-day period. In these circumstances, you are required to notify the Secretary of State and carry out a formal collective consultation process, with specific minimum timescales.
Failure to comply with these obligations can result in a Protective Award (a financial penalty imposed by an Employment Tribunal) being made against your business. We advise businesses on their collective consultation obligations.
Selection criteria must be objective, fair and capable of being applied consistently. Common examples include skills, qualifications, experience, performance and attendance records. You should avoid criteria that could be indirectly discriminatory.
We advise on appropriate selection criteria and help you apply and document your scoring in a way that reduces the risk of a successful challenge to the process.
You are not obliged to use a settlement agreement, but they can be a useful way of achieving certainty at the end of a redundancy process. By signing a settlement agreement, the employee agrees not to bring employment claims against your business in exchange for an agreed payment.
This is particularly valuable where you have concerns about procedural errors, or where the circumstances of the redundancy are complex. We advise on whether a settlement agreement is appropriate and prepare the documentation.
An employee can bring an unfair dismissal claim if they believe their redundancy was not genuine, the selection process was unfair, or the correct consultation process was not followed. If a claim is made, we can advise on your options.
The best way to avoid a challenge is to follow the correct process from the start, which is why we encourage businesses to contact us before they take any formal steps.
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