It’s a sad fact that redundancies are prevalent in the wake of the global economic slowdown. And while redundancies can be incredibly distressing for employees, they can also pose huge challenges for you – the employer.

To help you avoid unnecessary employment tribunals, Croner – the UK’s leading provider of information, advice and support in the areas of employment and health and safety – is offering you helpful tips and answers to some of the most pressing questions around the Redundancy process. Failure to follow the correct procedures can give rise to claims for unfair dismissal from employees.

However, with Croner’s expert advice and practical support you can be confident that your employee management issues are dealt with effectively and according to current legislation. There are a variety of issues for you to consider when making redundancies – this guide will help you address concerns in relation to redundancy, selection and payment, along with some top tips to remember.

Consider the AlternativesBefore deciding to make employees redundant in your organisation, make sure that this is absolutely necessary. Are your problems short term? Could they be resolved by agreeing a period of lay-off with your employees? Are you expecting an increase in work in the near future? Is there any alternative work which can be given to employees? You do not want to have the expense of redundancy only to have to recruit at a later date.

Employee ConsultationThe law requires employers to consult their employees on a collective basis if they are proposing to dismiss as redundant 20 or more. This means that you must consult with trade union representatives if you recognise a union, or otherwise with representatives elected by your employees. If you are proposing to dismiss 20 or more employees over a period of 90 days, the consultation period must be at least 30 days. If 100 or more employees are being dismissed, this becomes 90 days.
Top Tips to Remember

1. Before deciding to make employees redundant in your organisation, make sure that you have considered all the alternatives.


2. Make sure that your consultation with the individual employee is not rushed, as this could imply that the redundancy is unfair.


3. Consider alternative jobs within your organisation for those at risk of redundancy. provide them with a list of vacancies if you can.


4. if you are in any doubt, you may want to consider a compromise agreement. this involves giving the dismissed employee a payment in exchange for their agreement not to bring an unfair dismissal claim.

See Barclays Commercial's Redundancy Management document for more details.