1. The Consultation: Your Right to be Consulted
Your employer must consult with you before a final decision is made. This consultation must be genuine and meaningful — not just informing you what's going to happen.
- What it involves: They must explain the business reasons for the proposed redundancies, provide details of the selection process, and properly consider any suggestions you have for avoiding them.
- Collective Consultation: If 20 or more employees are at risk, strict rules on "collective consultation" apply and your employer must consult with an employee representative.
2. Fair Selection: Your Right to Scrutinise the Process
Your employer must use a fair, objective, and non-discriminatory method to select employees for redundancy. You have the right to understand this process and challenge it if you believe it is unfair.
- Fair criteria: Skills, qualifications, disciplinary records, and performance appraisals conducted fairly over time.
- Automatically unfair: Selection based on a protected characteristic (age, race, gender), your working pattern (e.g., part-time), or because you asserted a statutory right.
How to Challenge Their Selection Findings
After you are informed you are at risk, send a formal written request for:
- A full copy of the selection criteria and scoring system
- A copy of your own scores against each criterion
- The specific evidence used to justify each score you received
- Who was on the scoring panel and what steps were taken to ensure objectivity
3. Alternative Roles: Your Right to be Considered
Your employer has a legal duty to consider whether there are any suitable alternative roles for you within the company or the wider group.
- The offer: You should be offered any suitable alternative role that is available.
- Trial period: If you accept an alternative role, you are entitled to a statutory four-week trial period to see if it is suitable.
4. Notice Period: Your Right to Formal Notice
- Statutory notice: A minimum of one week's notice for each full year you have worked (up to a maximum of 12 weeks).
- Contractual notice: Your contract may specify a longer period. Your employer must honour it.
5. Redundancy Pay: Your Right to Compensation
If you have been continuously employed for two or more years, you are entitled to a statutory redundancy payment, calculated based on your age, length of service, and weekly pay (which is capped by the government each year).
- Enhanced pay: Check your contract and staff handbook — you may be entitled to a more generous contractual redundancy payment.
- Written statement: Your employer must provide a written statement explaining how your redundancy payment was calculated. Check these figures carefully.
6. Your Right to Challenge
If you believe the redundancy was a sham, the selection was unfair, or your employer failed to properly consult you, you can challenge it.
- Appeal: You should be offered the right to appeal internally. Submit in writing, clearly stating your grounds.
- Employment Tribunal: If the appeal fails, you may have grounds to bring a claim for unfair dismissal.