News

Neil Dwyer, partner & head of the employment team at Hay & Kilner Solicitors, offers advice on managing a redundancy programme.
Recent research shows that more than 60% of small and medium sized businesses are now suffering financially due to the credit crunch and the move towards recession. Those not suffering are relying on savings and overdraft facilities to fund cash flow. Certainly, redundancies are on the increase. During a redundancy programme, employers need advice and support in carrying out what can be a complex and emotive process.
Like Sat Nav, the best journey involving redundancies is one where the employer has plotted each milestone in the journey and knows where the road ends. Potential problems that damage later milestones need to be addressed at the outset so that the process can be well thought-out, objective and successful.
At the outset, a business will calculate the bill for contractual and statutory payments – statutory redundancy pay and any payment for notice if the employee is not required to work the notice. It is important to ensure that this bill for the obligatory payments is not increased two or three fold by making expensive mistakes in the journey which will result in the business making additional compensation payments.
Potential potholes could come from:
These are some of the potential pitfalls which should be identified and addressed correctly at the outset of any redundancy procedures to avoid costly mistakes.
For further advice from Hay & Kilner’s employment team email neil.dwyer@hay-kilner.co.uk
Please note:
This article is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues. Please contact us to discuss how the contents of the article may affect you.