Redundancy Advice _ Employers

Redundancy Advice:  What Employers Should Know

As an Employer if you intend to make an employee redundant, the employee is entitled to receive a written statement of the amount of the redundancy payment.  You also need to show how you calculated the redundancy payment.

Remember that if employees are laid off or put on short time, they may also be entitled to a redundancy.

If you, the employer, intend to make an employee redundant you must make sure that it is done in line with the fair dismissal conditions.  These conditions are set out in a factsheet produced by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) titled Dismissal: Fair or Unfair

• As an Employer you must give your employees the correct period of consultation before redundancies are carried out.  Even if you have employees willing to take voluntary redundancy, you must include them in the consultation process
• If you do not give the required notification to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) then the Secretary of State may take legal proceedings which, if convicted, could lead to a fine of up to £5,000
• If you, the employer, have given an employee notice of dismissal that employee is usually entitled to have reasonable and paid time off to either look for work or to arrange training
• If your business changes hands, special rules apply which are set out in a factsheet produced by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) titled Transfer of an Undertaking
• If you make an employee redundant and the Department of Trade and Industry makes the employer's payment for you, you will be required to repay it
• If you intend to make 20 redundancies or more from one place within a 90 day period, you the employer must inform the Department Of Trade And Industry.  This must be done  in writing by the employer at least 30 days before the first dismissal.  This is the case where between 20 and 99 employees are to be made redundant.  
• If you intend to make more than 99 employees redundant, the employer must write to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) at least 90 days before the first dismissal.  

Other Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) publications that may be of interest to an employer:

• Redundancy Payments
• Offsetting Pensions Against Redundancy Payments
• Redundancy Consultation And Notification
• Facing Redundancy - time off for job hunting or to arrange training
• Employment Rights On The Transfer Of An Undertaking
• Rules Governing Continuous Employment And A Week's Pay

Visit the http://www.berr.gov.uk

Request redundancy advice today or visit our Money Shop and choose your own guidance.