Managing redundancies

Who should watch this?

Watch this if you are planning to make less than 20 employees redundant.

The content of this video is accurate as at August 2019 (but see 'Update' section below).

What does the video cover?

The video will cover questions such as:

• What is a redundancy?
• Does it matter how long an employee has been employed for?
• What contractual rights of the employee do I need to check?
• How do I choose who will be made redundant and when can I make my final decision?
• How many consultation meetings do I need to have?
• How can we avoid compulsory redundancies?  Can we ask an employee to reduce their pay instead, or ask them to take on a different job?
• How can I avoid discrimination allegations?
• Do I need to consult employees who are on maternity leave?
• What else can we do to handle things as sensitively as possible?
• Do we need a settlement agreement?

Running time: 24 mins

• Title Page (0.23)

• Introduction (1.40)

• Legal definition of redundancy (2.34)

• Contractual rights (3.52)

• Fair redundancy procedure (7.56)

• Alternatives to redundancy (2.38)

• Other points to consider (5.38)

• Summary (0.13)

Update

Since this video was filmed the cap on one week’s pay for the purposes of calculating statutory redundancy pay has changed.  For the current rates, see  www.acas.org.uk.

Also, please note that the law on how payments made to an employee on the termination of their employment are taxed has changed for terminations on or after 6 April 2018.  Under these new rules, there will be an additional tax charge if the employee does not work their full notice period, even if the termination payment they receive is under £30,000.

Special thanks to

Charles Pigott and Mills & Reeve LLP.

Disclaimer

LawWorks, the presenters, and the organisations involved in producing these resources cannot accept any responsibility or liability for the use of the materials and they are not a substitute for taking appropriate legal advice.

Date last reviewed

August 2019