Making Redundancies

The redundancy process should include employee consultation, a fair and equal selection process (by using a redundancy scorecard or employee selection form) and clear notification to employees selected for redundancy. Employees who have been consulted but who will not be made redundant should also be advised that their employment will continue.

Redundancy Letters, Forms, Advice or Support

If you need to make redundancies, we can help. We provide legal advice, consultation letters, employee notification letters, guidance and documentation to help you through the process.

Redundancy Consultation Letters

Employers are required to inform staff, in writing, of potential redundancies and to consult with staff before redundancies are made. The redundancy consultation letter explains to employees that redundancies could be made, why it is required and to explain their rights during the consultation process. The consultation letter is provided in Microsoft Word format to allow it to be customised as required and can be used as many times as required.

Redundancy Decision Notification Letters

Staff should be informed in writing of the redundancy decisions that have been reached. Four letters are available to send to employees as appropriate. These letters can be used as many times as required for the following options:

• Employee is to be made redundant (with or without working their notice period)
• Employee is to be made redundant but offered an alternative job within the organisation
• Employee has not been selected for redundancy

Redundancy Policy and Procedure

We strongly recommend that all organisations have a written redundancy policy and procedures in place before starting the redundancy process. You can then issue your policy to staff at the same time redundancy consultation letters are sent out, thus ensuring all parties concerned know what to expect during the redundancy process and when staff reductions are needed.

More information: Redundancy policy

Redundancy Guidance Notes

It is essential that employers who need to make redundancies understand their legal obligations and responsibilities. Guidance notes are available that provide an easy to understand series of explanations written in plain English. The information includes an overview of the required processes, details of how employees should be consulted with (and what should be covered in the redundancy consultation meetings) and advice on how alternatives to redundancies should be considered. Please contact us for assistance.

Example Redundancy Selection Criteria Forms and Scorecard

Selecting staff to be made redundant should be made fairly, with a paper trail to demonstrate that due process was followed in the event of any employee grievances or employment tribunal claims.

A redundancy scorecard is available that can be used to score employees on a number of factors, ensuring that employees are selected fairly.

Redundancy selection forms can be used as a basis to help with (and document) your decision making process when selecting employees for redundancy.

Statutory Redundancy Pay Ready Reckoner and Pay Calculator tools

Employee's legal entitlement to statutory redundancy pay is based on their length of service, the employee's age and their salary (within certain thresholds). The Ready Reckoner is an easy to use tool for calculating an employee's entitlement to the number of weeks statutory redundancy pay that may be due. The Pay Calculator tool combines the number of weeks pay of redundancy pay due with notice pay and any contractual benefits that may be due.

The tools include advice and guidance about how entitlements should be calculated, including how figures should be rounded and what dates should be used for the calculations. Please contact us for assistance.

Redundancy Process Flowchart

The flowchart provides an overview of the redundancy process to help an employer understand what needs to be done, in what order and to what timescales. The flowchart highlights the various letters that need to be issued, meetings that should be held and documentation. Please contact us for assistance