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.
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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.
- Navigate the process smoothly with guidance from dedicated Employment Law specialists
- Unlimited, fixed-fee, 24/7 support for business owners, HR teams and managers
- Save time with bespoke document drafting – at-risk letters, meeting invites, dismissal letters and more
- Additional specialist HR support with consultation meetings to take the pressure off
- Optional Legal Expenses Insurance for added protection against claims
Related Information
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.
"Thank you so much for your support with this process. I am not sure how we would have got through it without you. I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending EW."
Astute Money Limited
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 other HR advice and support
Drafting Letters and Documents
Drafted by a dedicated team of Employment Law specialists who understand your history, we can produce a range of fully bespoke documents geared to your goals.
What sorts of documents can you draft?
Just about anything and everything you might need during the employment relationship. All of our advisers are qualified legal professionals or on the road to formal qualification, which means we can support you with a full spectrum of advice and documentation, from first written warnings to new contractual clauses, to a policy you might not have in your Employee Handbook, plus more complex legal documents like settlement agreements and redundancy outcome letters.
I’ve got a HR team and just want templates we can use. Do you have a resources bank?
Yes, our fixed-fee Employment Law and HR support includes full access to our Knowledge Hub, available through MyEW, which contains most of the templates we work from. If you have an internal HR team, you may prefer to access these and tailor them yourselves. However, for more complex cases, we would always suggest engaging with our legal advisers as it can be all too easy to word something in a way that leaves you exposed.
Consultation Meetings
Whether you’re embarking on large-scale redundancies, considering making changes to employees’ terms and conditions or going through a transfer of ownership, our skilled HR specialists can conduct meaningful consultations with those affected to help you make informed, commercial decisions.
What matters must employers consult employees on?
All employers must inform and consult their employees on selling the business or buying a new one, making 20 or more people redundant within a 90-day period, and health and safety issues. If you employ over 50 employees, you may also have to consult employees on changes to your pension scheme and share other business information within your workforce if they request an information and consultation agreement.
If I’ve already made a decision, do I need to consult?
Consultation should take place when proposals are still at a formative stage. If it begins after decisions have already been made, this will be too late for any meaningful discussions to be had.
It is important to remember that consultation is not an end in itself and shouldn’t be treated as such. Consultation during a redundancy exercise, for example, is about more than just informing the employee of a decision you’ve already made; it should open a two-way dialogue where views and information can be exchanged, with the ultimate aim of exploring ways that redundancy might be avoided, as well as discussing any selection process with the employee.
As Acas guidelines state, “Making a pretence of consulting on issues that have already been decided is unproductive and engenders suspicion and mistrust about the process amongst staff.”
Organisational Design
Not sure how to execute your reorganisation plans? With dedicated HR specialist to guide you through the process, you can scrutinise the current make-up of your organisation, consider whether this supports your goals and, if not, map out how it might look moving forward.
Contracts and Handbooks
Up-to-date, flexible, robust. Whatever contract or policy you’re drawing up, make sure these essential documents work for you by getting them drafted by a legally-qualified professional.
What are the risks of not having the right contracts in place?
Failing to provide an employee with a contract could lead to additional compensation being awarded to an employee who successfully makes another sort of claim against their employer. In addition, a number of practical problems could be caused by having incorrect contracts, such as paying too little (or too much) notice, getting holiday entitlement wrong and failing to protect legitimate business interests in the face of an employee leaving for a competitor.
I’m not sure whether my contracts are up to date or not. Can you help?
Absolutely. Employers often use the same contracts and policies for years, only realising they’re out of date when an issue arises. We can conduct a full MOT to assess any areas where they are outdated or fall short, then either replace or revamp them for maximum cover and effectiveness.
Employment Tribunals
At Ellis Whittam, we help organisations proactively reduce their exposure to claims through pragmatic advice and support. With a trio of dedicated Employment Law specialists at your disposal, you can navigate your way through even the trickiest employee matters quickly and compliantly.
How much does an Employment Tribunal cost?
Since 2017, it does not cost anything to make a Tribunal claim and that has seen the number of claims increase exponentially. If a disgruntled employee wants to make a claim against you, all they need is a laptop and a spare 10 minutes. Once that claim is submitted, you are into a process which is not easy or quick to get out of. The average compensation payment in an unfair dismissal claim is around £15,000 and legal fees can often match that. As a result, it makes sense to have the benefit and peace of mind of Legal Expenses Insurance which will cover these costs.
What outcome can I expect from a redundancy Tribunal case?
Compensation. Most successful claims brought by an employee result in the employer having to pay compensation. The average award for unfair dismissal over the past 12 months is a little over £15,000. In some cases, a Tribunal can order that a previously dismissed employee be reinstated but those cases are fairly rare.
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Experts in Employment Law & HR
Why choose us?
At Ellis Whittam, 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
James Tamm
Director of Legal Services
Kim Clarke
Head of Team
Toyah Marshall
Principal Employment Law Adviser
Colleague Spotlight
Adele Blinkhorn
HR Consultancy Manager
Client Stories
The Works
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Debbie Jamieson, People Director
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Culina Group
“We get a great deal of comfort and satisfaction knowing that we have support as and when we need it, in a decisive and responsive way.”
Richard Berry, Group HR Director
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Bluestone National Park Resort
“What we recognised in Ellis Whittam is the background that they have. They are able to supply knowledge and experience in a number of disciplines, which enables us to develop our business in a way that’s safe, to do it on time and with a quality to it.”
Debbie Rainbow, Director of Human Resources and Health & Safety
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BeaverFit
“As the company started to get larger, we knew we had to protect our employees and our contractors both onsite and in the offices. Ellis Whittam is exactly what we needed to move the company forward.”
Joanne Beaver, Operations Director
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Choice Care
“We have found Ellis Whittam to be responsive and aligned with our business in terms of our processes and expectations. Their pragmatic approach has proven to be a great fit – nobody wants to be fighting their adviser on basic employment decisions.”
Jonathan Green, COO
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Catalyst Choices
“Ellis Whittam supports our 280 staff members with Employment Law and Health & Safety and has provided quality management training too.”
Lisa Best, Head of Service Delivery
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