Redundancies & Cost Reductions

During tough times tough decisions have to be made for businesses to survive. Many companies choose to cut back on staff as a last resort and we are here to help you deal with these difficult decisions fairly and help plan to give you alterantives to redundancy for the future.

Redundancy

An employee is considered to be redundant in law if the employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the relevant business at or reasonably near the place where the employee is employed; or the requirement for work of that kind has ceased or diminished or is expected to do so.
The employer is expected to consider practicable measures to avoid or reduce redundancies.

When faced with a redundancy situation this can be emotional for both employer and employee to deal with, there are statutory requirements which should be followed and we can help ensure you are aware of these and take the appropriate steps to avoid possible tribunal claims for unfair selection.

Dependant on the numbers involved you may be required to complete a formal consultation process which will involve meeting with your employees or their representatives and considering suggestions for alternative action to avoid redundancy. This may include temporary lay offs or reduced working time (unless these are in your contracts you require the permission and agreement of your workers) or you may consider alternative roles in the business.

Where a pool of affected employees has been identified you may have to apply a selection process to decide who is made redundant. It is essential that you seek advice on how to apply this process fairly.

If in doubt at any stage of a redundancy situation then you should seek professional advice and we are happy to discuss this with you.

Cost Reductions

We appreciate that staff cuts are a last resort and as we work with a wide range of small businesses we have built partnerships with companies that may be able to assist in reducing your overheads.

Working smarter, not harder.