Making someone redundant is one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do – and for the sake of your business, you need to balance the need to get it right legally as well as skilfully manage the emotional impact that always ensues for the team member affected and their colleagues.

Lockdown has posed a number of difficulties for businesses, many business owners, even with the support offered by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and its later incarnation – the Flexible Furlough Scheme (FFS),  have had to face the reality of depleted income streams and with no assurance of when “normal business will resume”.

With the changes under the FFS, employers are required to contribute a greater proportion of the salary and employers’ costs for furloughed team members until the cessation of the Scheme on 31st October 2020.

This has led to many employers having to make some hard decisions about the future of their business resulting in them having to consider redundancies in order to survive and protect their business and the security of employment for their team.

In this latest guide, we look at getting redundancy right, what processes need to be implemented and when, so you don’t fall the wrong side of employment law and keep the process fair to everyone concerned. We take a deep dive into your contractual obligations to your employers which might include:

  • consultations with your employee/s
  • a notice period/pay
  • the option to move employees into a different job
  • giving employees time off to find a new job
  • redundancy pay

Please note that if you are already in process of making redundancies or about to start getting proper advice and support is crucial. You cannot select an employee for redundancy based on: age, gender, disability, race, religion/belief, pregnancy/maternity, marriage/civil partnership or gender reassignment. If you do then this is classed as unfair dismissal.

If you need further support and advice or are looking for online HR Resources please get in contact with the team today. With offices in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex we are well placed to help you manage your HR.

If you are making redundancies, we can help to get it right legally as well as skillfully manage the emotional impact.