Making an employee redundant: Process, Process, Process!

Redundancies are a form of dismissal and occur when an employee’s position is no longer required. A very important point to remember: You make the position redundant and not the person, so, if you decide you still need the role but the person is not performing, redundancy is not he right tool to use and you may need to look at the individual’s performance.

Are you still with us? Okay, so…

If you have no alternative other than to make redundancies (and redundancies should always be the last resort!) you must remember 3 things:

Process, Process, Process.

Consultation Process

Depending on the number of people you are potentially making redundant, the consultation period varies from a week to 45 days before the first dismissal takes place.

If bigger numbers are involved then you may need to appoint a representative who can relay information to the “at risk” employee(s). Examples of things you will need to discuss with them are:

• Reasons for the proposed redundancies
• Numbers and descriptions of employees affected

Selection Process

The criteria has to be objective and fair as well as consistent. Employers should look at basing selections on skills or qualifications, using areas like:

• Attendance record
• Disciplinary record
• Skills or experience

Redundancy Notice

Once you have selected the employees that are to be made redundant, you will need to give them a notice period before the employment ends. The statutory periods of notice are:

• At least one week of notice if the employee has been with the business for between one month and 2 years
• One week of notice for each year the employee has been with the business, between 2 and 12 years
• 12 weeks of notice if they have been with the business 12 years of more

Redundancy Payments

Employees are entitled to statutory redundancy payments if they have been employed by the business for at least 2 continuous years. You can also have a separate policy in place outlining any additional payments. The statutory payments are:

• 0.5 weeks’ pay for each full year of service while they were aged under 22
• 1 week of pay for each full year of service while they were aged 22-41
• 1.5 weeks of pay for each full year of service while they were aged 41 or older.

Call us today for expert guidance

While we’ve covered some of the main points surrounding redundancies in the workplace, the rules and regulations extend far beyond what’s covered in this blog post.

If you’re looking for expert redundancy help in Durham or elsewhere across the North East, contact Rob Heerin HR via telephone (07988 662 499) or email (rob@robheerinhr.co.uk). We can make this stressful process much more comfortable for everyone involved.