I need help with

Redundancies

Redundancy is a particularly complex area of employment law, meaning the margin for error is high. How do you turn your plans into a functioning process that doesn’t expose you to future Employment Tribunals?

From determining whether your organisation is in a genuine redundancy situation to understanding redundancy pay and settlement agreements, support from named experts will help you to transform complex legislation into a series of manageable steps.

Get your FREE consultation

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

COVID-19 | FREE expert guidance for employers, including sample policies, template risk assessments and more

How we help

Advice, guidance and reassurance

Whether you’re looking at single redundancies or collective consultation, navigate the process as painlessly as possible and limit the potential for claims with our end-to-end redundancy support.

From step-by-step Employment Law advice to bespoke HR Consultancy support tailored to the needs of your business, our highly-qualified experts can help you to make necessary business decisions confidently and compliantly. No guesswork, no unnecessary pressure on those involved.

Related resources

Blog

What is the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023?

Free guide

10-Step Guide to Redundancy

Free template

Example Redundancy Selection Matrix

Relieve pressure, reduce legal risk

Mismanaging the redundancy process – selecting employees for an unfair reason or overlooking certain procedural elements – can result in Employment Tribunal claims. You must also consult every step of the way, deal with queries and concerns, and be able to justify your decisions. Understandably, many employers don’t feel equipped to handle these situations without proper support.

Whether you need a dedicated Employment Law specialist to help you properly consider your proposals, craft legally-compliant documentation and guide you through the redundancy exercise, or more hand-holding HR Consultancy support, ranging from a review of your business case to full end-to-end project management, we can help. Protect against financial and reputational risk, relieve pressure on management time, and focus on your strategic vision with complete peace of mind.

Popular FAQs

Common redundancy queries and questions about our service, answered by our Employment Law and HR specialists.

If someone is made redundant, can they be replaced?

Employers should proceed with caution when considering replacing any staff who have been made redundant. After all, to make somebody redundant implies that their role was no longer required and deciding to hire somebody else in this position provides clear evidence that this was not the case. As such, the redundant employee could make a claim to an Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal.

How long after making someone redundant can you re-employ?

There is no set amount of time an employer must wait before recruiting again after redundancy. However, it’s important to keep in mind the legal risks – namely claims for unfair dismissal – if you hire somebody to do a job that has not long been made redundant. If there has been an unexpected change in circumstances, i.e. you’ve secured a new contract, it may be acceptable to recruit again – but, to be safe, you should make sure that the job spec is sufficiently different from the role you just made redundant. Of course, you could consider re-employing the individual(s) you have already made redundant and you would not necessarily have to wait any period of time before doing so.

Can employers claim back statutory redundancy pay?

Not usually. An employer could make an offer of re-employment conditional upon repayment of statutory redundancy pay but there would be little incentive for the former employee to accept that.

Can I make an apprentice redundant?

It depends. In England, if an apprentice is employed on an approved apprenticeship agreement or an apprenticeship agreement, then normal principles apply, and they can be made redundant like any other employee. This is the same for apprentices in Wales employed on apprenticeship agreements. However, apprentices in Scotland and those elsewhere who are employed on old-style, common-law apprenticeship agreements have additional safeguards not available to the rest of the workforce. They cannot be dismissed by reason of redundancy in the usual way, unless there is a closure of the business or the employer’s business undergoes a fundamental change in its character.

Can redundancy be withdrawn?

Once an employer has issued an employee with a notice of redundancy, it is legally binding. As such, it cannot be unilaterally withdrawn by the employer without the employee’s consent. However, if circumstances change and the redundancy is no longer necessary, it is possible to withdraw the redundancy notice while the employee is working their notice period, so long as they explicitly agree to this.

Can a pregnant woman be made redundant?

‘Pregnancy and maternity’ is one of nine protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010. Accordingly, employers must not subject employees to detrimental treatment as a result of them being pregnant, breastfeeding or haven recently given birth. While pregnant employees can be made redundant, employers must ensure that the reason for selecting a pregnant employee for redundancy is in no way connected to them being pregnant or suffering a pregnancy-related illness. This means developing and applying fair, objective, non-discriminatory scoring criteria. You must also include pregnant employees in the consultation process and properly consider suitable alternative employment.

How does redundancy pay work?

Those who have worked for you for two years or more will be entitled to a statutory redundancy payment. The amount they receive will depend on their age, pay and length of service. Those under 22 years of age are entitled to half a week’s pay for each full year’s service; 22 to 41-year-olds are entitled to one week’s pay for each full year, and those aged 41 or older are entitled to one and a half week’s pay for each full year. A week’s pay is capped at £525, with a maximum length of service of 20 years. Therefore, if an employee is made redundant after 6 April 2020, the maximum statutory redundancy pay they will receive is £15,750. An employee won’t be entitled to redundancy pay if they unreasonably refuse a reasonable offer of suitable alternative employment.

When does the redundancy notice period start?

The redundancy notice period will start once the employee is served with a notice of redundancy and given a finishing date. Employees who have been employed for at least one month but less than two years are entitled to a minimum of one week’s notice. Those with between two and 12 years’ service are entitled to one week’s notice for each year they have been employed, although some employees may have more generous notice requirements contained in their contract.

Can you provide support for redundancy consultation meetings?

Yes, if you’re not confident in chairing these meetings yourself or simply don’t have the time, our experienced HR Consultants can conduct your consultation meetings for you for extra peace of mind.

Explore our fixed-fee Employment Law support

Why choose us?

Experts in Employment 
Law & HR

At WorkNest, we’re known for our bespoke service and the quality of our support. Not only is our expertise unmatched, but we take the time to know you so that we can function as a true extension of your team.

  • Your own small team of dedicated experts
  • Commercial, pragmatic advice tailored to you
  • Bespoke contracts, policies and handbooks
  • Trusted by over 35,000 organisations
  • Recognised as a leading firm by the Legal 500 

Who you’ll be working with

Client stories

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *