Effective workforce management is essential in ensuring your business remains profitable and sustainable. Fluctuating markets, financial difficulties and the advance of technology and automation are some of the many reasons why redundancies may be necessary.
If a redundancy or workforce restructuring situation arises, our employment experts will provide you with pragmatic legal advice to manage the process so that the exercise is effective, legally compliant and handled sensitively for your workforce.
A redundancy situation will arise where an employer needs to reduce their workforce for business reasons. The legislation sets out that this occurs where an employer decides to stop carrying on a business completely, where it closes a specific location of the business or where the need for the specific type of work that the employee does ceases or diminishes.
Whatever the specific business reasons for restructuring, employers have various legal obligations to ensure that redundancy decisions are genuinely necessary and fair. These include the legal duty to consult with affected employees; applying fair and objective criteria by which to select employees for redundancy; offering employees suitable alternative employment; complying with employee’s contracts of employment and company redundancy policies, giving employees a right of appeal, and ensuring employees receive their correct redundancy payments and notice periods upon dismissal.
Getting the process wrong can be both financially and reputationally damaging to a business. Employment Tribunal claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination, and protective awards could be brought against the company by the employee.
How we can help
Making redundancies requires clear and effective planning. We will work closely with you to strategize, ensuring that your legal and practical obligations are fulfilled at every stage, and that your organisational change takes effect swiftly and successfully.
How we can help:
- Advice on managing individual redundancy procedures;
- Assistance on managing collective redundancies (where 20 or more employees are to be made redundant);
- Comprehensive guidance on the legal obligations and practical process you need to follow;
- Reviews of pooling and selection criteria to ensure it is fair and non-discriminatory;
- Document review and preparation, such as drafting letters to employees and scripts for managers;
- Advising on pregnancy and maternity-related redundancies;
- Advice on managing and investigating appeals and employee grievances;
- Drafting and negotiating settlement agreements where necessary.
Please call us today to speak to an expert employment solicitor for a free 30-minute initial consultation on 01753 861 115, email us at enquiries@charles-coleman.com or complete our contact form, and we will be happy to help.
