Redundancy is when an employer dismisses an employee as they no longer need someone to do that job and need to reduce their workforce. Making staff redundant can be difficult to approach on your own and is a challenging process for both parties. Rawlins Davy have dealt with many redundancy procedures in the past and aim for the best outcome for the employer and employee(s).
Reasons For Making Staff Redundant
Businesses can often struggle with paying staff whilst making a profit. Sometimes there is little work for staff and an insufficient income to pay wages whilst keeping the company in profit. This is why redundancy is sometimes the only solution to cut cost. Redundancy can be made for a range of reasons, such as these: The employees job role is no longer required in the company; The business will be moving location; The business is closing the area the employee works in.
The Process of Redundancy
The first step of redundancy process is to warn your staff that a potential redundancy could effect them. This limits the affect that redundancy can have on the employees. You should tell your employees about the situation and the criteria for the selection process.
Next, you need to identify which staff you want to make redundant. This should be a list of staff who are suitable for redundancy, keeping your key staff safe in the process by not including them in this list. Consider an employee’s role, the area of the business they work in and their skill set. Be careful to ensure your reasons are not deemed discriminatory, as this could lead to an employment tribunal.
After this, it is time to action your redundancy plan. You will need to give notice to the staff you are dismissing. It is common practice to outline this in a formal meeting and then confirm the redundancy in writing.The notice period for an employee who has been with the company between 1 month and 2 years is a week. For an employee at the company over 2 years, the notice period is one week for each year (max. 12 weeks). During the notice period, you are required to pay the employees statutory redundancy pay, which is their weekly pay.
Need Help Making Staff Redundant?
The redundancy process is very complicated and there are lots of hidden rules. Rawlins Davy have lots of experience helping with the redundancy process. This means our business legal team are highly qualified in helping you through the redundancy process and ensuring a good result for your business and it’s employees. Contact a member of our legal team to discuss your requirements.
