A short guide to redundancy consultation.
Redundancy is one of the more procedurally sensitive areas of employment law. A fair process requires a genuine redundancy situation, a defined pool, a reasonable consultation period and objective selection criteria. Each of these may be examined by an employment tribunal in the event of a subsequent unfair dismissal claim.
Most difficulties in a redundancy process arise before any formal letter has been sent. Preliminary conversations are held with affected staff, severance figures are indicated verbally, or the pool-selection process is commenced without written criteria. The inconsistency between the paperwork and the employee's recollection of events is the single most common factor behind a successful challenge.
For a straightforward redundancy process within a team of up to twenty employees, the firm prepares the business-case rationale, the pool and selection criteria, the consultation letters, the suggested meeting agenda and the outcome letter. Where a settlement agreement is preferred, the agreement is drafted and the independent legal advice certificate arranged. The work is undertaken on a fixed fee agreed before instruction.
Where a managed exit is more appropriate than a formal consultation, the firm advises on the comparative costs and risks of each route at the initial consultation.