Q. I am having to make 25 employees redundant.
When and how should I start the collective redundancy consultation with employees?
A. The procedure itself is highly regulated and employers must ensure they meet all of the required steps, including holding a consultation with staff, to avoid costly legal claims.
According to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, those looking to complete between 20-99 redundancies within a 90-day period must begin collective consultation at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect.
This time frame is designed to allow meaningful discussions to occur, however employers may consider beginning consultation even earlier to afford staff sufficient opportunity to seek alternative employment.
It is important that you dedicate appropriate time to the collective consultation procedure.Peter DonePrior to the collective consultation all employees should be informed of your intention to make collective redundancies. Many employers will feel uncomfortable delivering this news face-to-face. However, this is recommended as it will allow you to personally explain the practicalities of the procedure.
Appropriate representatives play a key role as they will represent the interests of the wider workforce during consultation meetings.
These individuals are typically trade union representatives or employee representatives who have been elected to an internal staff body with the mandate of handling redundancy situations.
If these individuals are not already in place, then the workforce should be encouraged to elect individuals to these positions.
Once the appropriate representatives have been selected and the official notice has been sent, the collective consultation may officially begin.
During this time, you should hold a series of collective consultation meetings that must address ways to avoid dismissals, to reduce the number of employees being dismissed and ways to mitigate the impact of dismissal on the affected employees.
Consultations should be a fair and genuine exercise meaning that representatives are encouraged to contribute and offer favourable suggestions which includes the appropriate selection process and redundancy packages.
You should be able to show that you have considered the views of the wider workforce.
It is also important to note that the Secretary of State must be notified when making large redundancies.
Only once the collective consultation process is completed may you issue a notice to the affected employees informing them of the terms of their redundancy.
These must take into account the individual’s contractual notice period and include their right to appeal the decision to a manager who has not been involved in the process.
It is important that you dedicate appropriate time to the collective consultation procedure as recent tribunal cases have seen employers ordered to pay significant compensation to staff for failing to follow the requirements.
You also need to keep in mind the obligation to carry out separate individual consultations with staff who will be affected and sufficient planning is required if both are to be completed simultaneously.
Peter Done is chief executive of Peninsula
