Redundancy policy

Whilst redundancy is a potentially fair reason for dismissal, you are still obliged to follow a fair procedure when implementing a redundancy programme. Our policy statement helps get you started with this.

A fair redundancy

Redundancy is a potentially fair reason for dismissal, but you must still act reasonably. This means that you must properly explore other options to redundancy, fully consult with the affected employees, adopt a fair selection procedure and consider the potentially redundant employees for alternative employment if any is available. Where the redundancy programme involves proposing to make 20 or more employees redundant at one establishment within a period of 90 days or less, you are under collective consultation obligations in addition to your individual consultation obligations. Our Redundancy Policy sets out the steps that you agree to follow in order to try and avoid having to make compulsory redundancies. This all forms part of a fair procedure because compulsory redundancy should really be a last resort action. Our policy also sets out your redundancy consultation obligations, the position on alternative employment provisions on redundancy pay and details of the statutory right to time off to look for new employment. You can then, if you wish, have a separate policy statement dealing with your proposed selection criteria, although you might wish instead to keep this flexible and select the criteria at the time of each redundancy exercise according to the particular needs of the business.

Ongoing obligations

Even where you have followed a fair procedure and issued notices of redundancy, you remain under an ongoing duty to continue to seek alternative employment for the redundant employee. This duty continues right up until the date that the employee’s employment with you terminates.