Redundancy Part One: What it is & What to do
Redundancy can come as a surprise to many people, and it is possibly one of the most distressing events an employee can experience. The employer needs to ensure that there is fair treatment of redundant employees as well as the morale of the remaining workforce. Employers must understand their obligations including employees’ rights and the correct procedures to follow.
What is Redundancy?
Redundancy is a form of dismissal when an employer needs to reduce the size of its workforce. In the UK, an employee can be dismissed for redundancy if:
- The employer has ceased or intends to cease, continuing the business
- The requirements for employees to perform work of a specific type or to conduct it at the location in which they are employed, has ceased, diminished, or are expected to.
Employers must follow a correct procedure and make redundancy and notice period payments.
Employers should:
- Take all reasonable steps to avoid redundancies
- Plan and develop employment strategies to deal with the requirements of short-term labour fluctuations, minimise the risk of enforced redundancies and maximise alternative resourcing opportunities.
- Manage redundancies legally and in a way that minimises the impact on both those who lose their jobs and those who don’t.
- Provide a communication strategy to ensure that everyone in the workplace has the correct information about any redundancies.
Redundancy during Coronavirus
Many people lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite government intervention to try and avoid redundancies. The future situation is still uncertain, especially now the “furlough” scheme has ended. Employers who decide there is no alternative to redundancies still must follow their normal redundancy procedures. Proceeding without the consideration of alternatives may encourage employees with over two years’ service to present unfair dismissal claims.
Redundancy Procedures
As an employer, you should consider having a formal redundancy procedure. Employers should follow these redundancy stages as a minimum:
- Planning
- Identifying the pool for selection
- Seeking volunteers
- Consulting employees
- Selection for redundancy
- Suitable alternative employment
- Appeals and dismissals
These will be covered individually in our next blog post.
Protecting employee’s health and wellbeing
It’s important to approach the redundancy process with empathy and treat everyone with respect and kindness. How the employer handles the redundancy can determine how an employee copes with the news. Take time to explain the reasons why they are being made redundant and why it’s a hard business decision. You should also discuss the actions that were taken to avoid redundancy and facilitate redeployment. Notifying an employee of redundancy is a difficult task and employers should be trained to handle redundancies with sympathy and clarity.
Being selected for redundancy can have a huge effect on one’s mental health. Immediate and ongoing support should be available to those who have been affected by the redundancy.
Furthermore, redundancy also has an impact on other employees who are witnessing their colleagues being laid off and may feel that their jobs are at risk. It is the job of the senior managers to give all staff a full explanation of what is going on and what redundancy procedure is being used.
Related Articles:
Redundancy in the UK: A Guide to Avoiding Unfair Selection
