Redundancy & Collective Consultation Compliance Check

Why this matters

Redundancy is one of the most legally exposed decisions an employer can make. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996 a redundancy must be genuine, selection must be fair and objective, and employees with the qualifying service must be properly consulted and offered suitable alternative employment where it exists. Get any of these wrong and a dismissal that was commercially justified can still be found unfair, with compensation awarded by an employment tribunal. Employees with two years’ service are also entitled to statutory redundancy pay, calculated by age, length of service and a capped weekly wage that is reviewed every April. Where you propose to dismiss 20 or more employees at one establishment within 90 days, section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 requires collective consultation: at least 30 days before the first dismissal for 20–99 redundancies, and 45 days for 100 or more, plus notification to the Redundancy Payments Service on form HR1 before consultation ends. Failing to consult can lead to a protective award, which the Employment Rights Act 2025 is doubling to a maximum of 180 days’ pay per affected employee, so mistakes are becoming far more expensive. Smaller employers making fewer than 20 redundancies still owe individual consultation and fair process, and are often caught out by rushed timetables and weak documentation.

What you'll need

• Whether you are proposing to make, or have already made, any employees redundant in the last 12 months
• How many employees at a single site or establishment may be affected within a 90-day period
• Whether a recognised trade union or elected employee representatives exist in your workforce
• Whether you have a written redundancy selection process, pool and scoring criteria
• Whether any affected employees are on maternity, adoption, shared parental or other protected leave

What you'll get

A personalised compliance report covering: a score out of 100, an executive summary, a list of findings ranked by severity, and a prioritised action plan with timeframes.