Making redundancies can be the hardest part of the process when you need to streamline your business. It can sometimes feel as though you are in a nightmare of potential litigation.
Making sure you follow the rules can not only protect you from costly tribunals, but make the whole process less emotional for all involved.
The most important thing to consider is to make sure that your employees know what is going on at all stages of the procedure. Should you fail to communicate with your employees of their representatives during this crucial process it will not only cause fear and uncertainty within the workforce, it will result in allegations of unfairness in the redundancy decisions - making certain that expensive legal proceedings will occur.
It should also be remembered that it is the job that is made redundant - not the person. Regardless of the job description - whether it was a manual operation superseded by technology or a position that is no longer required due to other situations, the job itself must cease to exist when the person leaves. Regardless of what may be the message you have been given, it is legally okay to employ new people when others have been made redundant. What you must ensure, though, is that these new jobs fulfil different requirements and that the skills required do not exist within your present workforce.
Once the need to make redundancies has been established, there are several stages which the employer will need to go through in order to ensure that their obligations are met.
Working Out the Criteria For Redundancy
The objective of redundancy should be to create an effective, streamlined workforce that are best able to take your business forward. Establishing well defined criteria for selection is the most effective way of ensuring that all employees are treated equally, and their benefit to the company is properly assessed. The criteria you use may include:
* Adaptability - especially if your organisation is moving into a new area or market in order to move forward, you will need to retain the members of your staff who are comfortable with change and have the ability to adapt to new circumstances.
* Skills - keeping a good cross section of skills can help keep your workforce balanced and effective.
* Performance - you may wish to retain your hardest-working team members. Youll need documented evidence to support your decisions to avoid possible complaints of unfairness.
* Attendance - this is a valid criterion if applied fairly and consistently. Remember that you cannot use lack of attendance due to maternity, paternity or adoption leave.
Ideally, in order to ensure that the selection process is a fair and equal as possible, a combination of the above criteria should be used.
Consultation
Consultation is a vital part of the redundancy process. This is because it will minimise the likelihood of unfair dismissal claims and it will also ensure that you retain those members of the team who are motivated through your transparent communication.
If it seems to be the case that you will be making more than 20 positions redundant within a 90-day period, you will also be required to inform the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
Rumours and speculation will quite often run rampant during times of redundancy. As a result, you should be prepared to be as open and honest as possible in order to avoid unnecessary confusion. In particular, inform those at risk at the earliest possible stage of the reasons for the redundancies, the positions and departments likely to be affected, the approximate number of employees at risk and what criteria you will be considering in the selection procedure. It is also important that you keep them informed of the time line of events.
Contact each employee who is at risk of redundancy, detailing your reasons for the decision and arrange for a meeting to talk about the situation. If you fail to do this, it will automatically make any dismissal unfair.
If you continue to communicate openly with both at risk staff and those who will be staying behind throughout the process, it will help to keep negative emotions to a minimum and reduce the possibilities of claims of unfair dismissal.
Offering Assistance
Even though you are not legally required to do so, it is a good idea to assist those you have selected for redundancy in as many practical ways as possible. This could mean offering assistance in obtaining alternative employment, CV writing guidance and interview technique or even financial planning assistance. Acting this way will assist both you and your former employee in maintaining good relationships and will also reduce the chances of legal action.
The procedure of making redundancies can be a very difficult task, particularly if you are not aware of its emotionally charged nature or of the possible legal ramifications. - 16492
Making sure you follow the rules can not only protect you from costly tribunals, but make the whole process less emotional for all involved.
The most important thing to consider is to make sure that your employees know what is going on at all stages of the procedure. Should you fail to communicate with your employees of their representatives during this crucial process it will not only cause fear and uncertainty within the workforce, it will result in allegations of unfairness in the redundancy decisions - making certain that expensive legal proceedings will occur.
It should also be remembered that it is the job that is made redundant - not the person. Regardless of the job description - whether it was a manual operation superseded by technology or a position that is no longer required due to other situations, the job itself must cease to exist when the person leaves. Regardless of what may be the message you have been given, it is legally okay to employ new people when others have been made redundant. What you must ensure, though, is that these new jobs fulfil different requirements and that the skills required do not exist within your present workforce.
Once the need to make redundancies has been established, there are several stages which the employer will need to go through in order to ensure that their obligations are met.
Working Out the Criteria For Redundancy
The objective of redundancy should be to create an effective, streamlined workforce that are best able to take your business forward. Establishing well defined criteria for selection is the most effective way of ensuring that all employees are treated equally, and their benefit to the company is properly assessed. The criteria you use may include:
* Adaptability - especially if your organisation is moving into a new area or market in order to move forward, you will need to retain the members of your staff who are comfortable with change and have the ability to adapt to new circumstances.
* Skills - keeping a good cross section of skills can help keep your workforce balanced and effective.
* Performance - you may wish to retain your hardest-working team members. Youll need documented evidence to support your decisions to avoid possible complaints of unfairness.
* Attendance - this is a valid criterion if applied fairly and consistently. Remember that you cannot use lack of attendance due to maternity, paternity or adoption leave.
Ideally, in order to ensure that the selection process is a fair and equal as possible, a combination of the above criteria should be used.
Consultation
Consultation is a vital part of the redundancy process. This is because it will minimise the likelihood of unfair dismissal claims and it will also ensure that you retain those members of the team who are motivated through your transparent communication.
If it seems to be the case that you will be making more than 20 positions redundant within a 90-day period, you will also be required to inform the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
Rumours and speculation will quite often run rampant during times of redundancy. As a result, you should be prepared to be as open and honest as possible in order to avoid unnecessary confusion. In particular, inform those at risk at the earliest possible stage of the reasons for the redundancies, the positions and departments likely to be affected, the approximate number of employees at risk and what criteria you will be considering in the selection procedure. It is also important that you keep them informed of the time line of events.
Contact each employee who is at risk of redundancy, detailing your reasons for the decision and arrange for a meeting to talk about the situation. If you fail to do this, it will automatically make any dismissal unfair.
If you continue to communicate openly with both at risk staff and those who will be staying behind throughout the process, it will help to keep negative emotions to a minimum and reduce the possibilities of claims of unfair dismissal.
Offering Assistance
Even though you are not legally required to do so, it is a good idea to assist those you have selected for redundancy in as many practical ways as possible. This could mean offering assistance in obtaining alternative employment, CV writing guidance and interview technique or even financial planning assistance. Acting this way will assist both you and your former employee in maintaining good relationships and will also reduce the chances of legal action.
The procedure of making redundancies can be a very difficult task, particularly if you are not aware of its emotionally charged nature or of the possible legal ramifications. - 16492
About the Author:
Katherine Wiid is a specialist in recruitment and redundancy and has written many articles specifically about the complex Redundancy Selection process. For further information on Redundancy Procedure, check out the website www.recrion.co.uk.
