Making redundancies within a company is not an easy process, firstly you must decide whether redundancies are needed.

When making redundancies, you should plan each stage of a redundancy process, this will help you to follow the correct procedure and do right by your staff.

The first thing for a company to look at when making redundancies would be to see if there is any way they can be avoided. Things like reducing work hours (temporarily) asking employers to stop work just for a short time and not hiring any new employees can all help to avoid a company going down the redundancy route.

If you feel as an employer that making redundancies is the only option, you must hold redundancy consultations with your staff and their representatives. The consultation is a chance for you to explain your planned changes and for your employee to give you their input and feedback to the proposed plans.

When making redundancies you must select the employees in a fair way and not discriminate against anyone. You must base the decision on their standard of work, attendance record, skills qualifications, and experience. You must not select any employees based on age, disability, gender, race, religion, or sex. There are many others do’s and don’ts so make sure as an employer you follow the rules.

When making redundancies an employer should give the employee redundancy notice, the amount of time depends on how long they have worked for the company. If it is less than a month they do not have the right to statutory notice, 1 month to 2 years the minimum notice is 1 week, 2 to 12 years, the notice given must be a week for every year they have worked, 12 years or more the minimum notice is 12 weeks. It is advised that the notice is sent by email or letter so that both parties have a dated record.